Search Console 'block flattening' masks AI Overview link rank
What this answers
- Why does Search Console show position 1 for a link that isn't getting AI Overview traffic?
- Search Console treats an entire AI Overview as one ranking block rather than scoring each link inside it separately, so every link in the box — whether shown prominently or buried under a 'Show More' toggle — is recorded at the same position, per Google's John Mueller.
Google Search Advocate John Mueller said on Reddit that Search Console does not report where an individual link sits inside an AI Overview — it scores the entire overview box as a single block and assigns every link inside it the same position, typically position 1. Per Search Engine Journal, that means a link shown prominently and one hidden behind a “Show More” toggle can both report as position 1, and site owners should weigh actual clicks and conversions over the position figure for AI Overview traffic.
Why it matters: Search Console's position number has been the basis for outside studies of AI Overview visibility and click-through loss this year, so a confirmed measurement gap in that same number is a caveat on that whole body of analysis, not just an individual site's reporting.
The record: Google Search ConsoleGoogle AI OverviewsGoogle
Glossary: AI Overviews
Posted to the wire September 24, 2026. Edited by Joe Balewski.