Measurement · OWNER’S GUIDE
Read Google’s generative-search report and Bing’s AI report
Google’s generative-search impressions and Bing’s AI citations are different measures. Keep their definitions and dates intact, preserve unavailable values, and compare changes within each report before relating them to customer inquiries.
Build two baselines
Google’s generative AI performance report covers supported Search features. It can be absent when impression volume is insufficient; unavailable values displayed as a dash or tilde can export as zero. Its reporting dates use Pacific Time. Google: Generative AI performance report.
Bing reports citations across its supported AI experiences, including sampled grounding queries. These counts do not establish rank. Bing: AI Performance reporting.
| Field | Google baseline | Bing baseline |
|---|---|---|
| Metric | Generative-search impressions. | AI citations and cited pages. |
| Scope | Property, pages and chosen dimensions. | Verified site and supported report surfaces. |
| Time | Saved date range and report timezone. | Saved date range and the report’s displayed time basis. |
| Unavailable data | Preserve the UI’s missing-value state. | Retain absent or sampled-data labels. |
An export workflow you can repeat
- Save the report’s property, filters, date window and export time.
- Record missing-value markers before export, including an absent report.
- Retain the original file and put any cleaned data in a separate copy.
- Compare equivalent completed periods within each platform.
- List source-page changes and campaign activity that overlap the period.
Illustrative example.
If Google shows an unavailable value and the spreadsheet imports 0, label it “unavailable,” not “zero impressions.” If Bing shows 12 citations, do not add them to 30 Google impressions and advertise “42 AI appearances.” Those units and coverage differ.
Report what you can actually conclude
A useful client note names the page and a next action: “The policy page appears in this report; we checked its current terms and inquiry link.” It does not need a dramatic percentage. When a baseline is zero or unavailable, show the raw values and explain why a growth percentage would be misleading.
This tutorial provides a reporting method, not screenshots from an inspected customer account. Account access and real exports are needed for a completed report. Bring the relevant property access and date range to a scoped measurement review; avoid sharing private customer data in public examples.
Sources and review
Primary references checked November 11, 2026. Platform rules can change; check the linked instructions before acting.
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