Table of Contents
Google Just Added a Way to See If You're in AI Answers
The rest of the week, in bite-sized pieces
"We keep seeing the option to block Google's AI from using our content. Should we turn that on so it stops scraping us?"
Epic Web Studios
Epic Insights
Edition 23  ·  Jun 9, 2026

Finally, a Way to See If AI Is Showing Your Business

For two years the most common question we've gotten about AI search has been some version of the same three words: "Am I in there?" We've actually had a decent answer the whole time, because we use Local Falcon to track where clients get mentioned across AI results. The real mystery was how Google itself was measuring any of it. On June 3, Google finally cracked open its own numbers.
The Big Story

Google Just Added a Way to See If You're in AI Answers

For two years, Google's own data on AI answers has been a black box. We've had workarounds, tools like Local Falcon let us track where clients turn up across AI results, but Google itself handed you nothing. You could check your regular rankings all day while whether Google counted you inside an AI answer stayed hidden. On June 3, that changed. Search Console now has a dedicated report showing when your pages appear inside AI features like AI Overviews and AI Mode.

That matters because those AI answers now show up in roughly a quarter of US searches, and they've been completely opaque. So a real report is a genuine step forward, and Google called it one of the most-requested features it has ever shipped.

The good news comes with a catch, and we'd rather you hear it from us than find out the hard way. Right now the report shows impressions only. How often you appeared. It does not show clicks, it does not show which searches triggered it, and it does not show your position. Brodie Clark and Aleyda Solis, two people who read these tools closely, both flagged the same gap: the numbers that tell you whether AI traffic is worth anything aren't in there yet. It's also rolling out to UK sites first, so most businesses here won't see it for a few weeks.

Think of it as a counter on your shop window that tallies how many people walked past, but not how many came in. Useful. Incomplete. A real start.

So treat it as exactly that: progress, with your eyes open about what it still can't tell you.
What this means for your site
You finally have a place in Search Console to check whether Google's AI is surfacing your pages. Just know it tells you how often you showed up, not yet whether those appearances sent anyone to you.

Your move: Log into Search Console this week and get comfortable with where your Performance reports live. When the AI report reaches US accounts, you'll know exactly where to look, and we'll flag the day yours turns on.
Quick Hits

The rest of the week, in bite-sized pieces
The May Core Update Finally Wrapped
Google declared the May core update complete on June 2 after a bumpy twelve-day run, the latest in a year of nonstop algorithm shuffles. Lily Ray's early read is the familiar pattern: sites that aggregate other people's content slid, and the original source got the bump.
Your move: Don't read too much into your numbers until after June 9, the date Google says the dust has settled. We'll pull your before-and-after read then.
A WordPress Page-Builder Plugin Is Under Attack
Kirki, a theme and page-builder add-on running on roughly 150,000 active sites, has a critical flaw (CVE-2026-8206) that lets an attacker reset your admin password to their own email. Wordfence has already logged live attempts. The fix is version 6.0.7.
Your move: If your site runs Kirki, update to 6.0.7 today. If Epic hosts your WordPress site, no worries, we got you!
Google Is Asking More Businesses to Verify by Video
Google has tightened Business Profile verification all year, and local experts like Joy Hawkins report that once Google asks for a video, it's now the only way back in. Even long-verified profiles are getting pinged out of nowhere.
Your move: If you get a request, film the walk-through in one take with your signage, address, and equipment in frame. Don't ignore it, an unverified profile can drop off the map.
Two Handy New Google Business Profile Features
Google rolled out the ability to schedule Posts ahead of time and publish to several locations at once, plus a new option to add a WhatsApp button so customers can message you directly. Small additions, real time-savers.
Your move: If you write Posts one at a time, try scheduling a week's worth in one sitting. Running more than one location? You can now post to all of them together.
Ask Epic

"We keep seeing the option to block Google's AI from using our content. Should we turn that on so it stops scraping us?"

Please don't, at least not for the reason you're picturing. We get the instinct. It feels like AI is helping itself to your work and giving nothing back. But that switch doesn't put up a polite "ask first" sign. It pulls you out of AI Overviews and AI Mode completely, and Google has confirmed that opting out won't lift your normal rankings as a consolation prize.

Here's the part that stings. A growing share of searches now end inside an AI answer, never on a list of blue links. So blocking AI is a lot like pulling your number from the phone book so telemarketers can't call, then wondering why your actual customers can't reach you either.

The goal isn't to hide from AI. It's to be the business it quotes, and that comes from the same fundamentals we always come back to: clear pages, real answers, a fast site. If you have a genuine legal or licensing reason to opt out, let's talk it through together. Otherwise, leave the switch alone.
What Epic's doing for you this week
This week the team is getting hands-on with the new Search Console AI report as it rolls out, so we know exactly how to read it for you the moment it reaches US accounts. We're also patching the WordPress plugin flaws making the rounds, including the Kirki vulnerability, and holding steady on rankings while we wait for clean post-update data after June 9. If anything touches your account in a way that needs your eyes, you'll hear from us directly. And as always, you can follow what we're working on, read your latest reports, and catch any messages from the team in your Client Center.
Your 15-minute self-audit

The 15-Minute AI Visibility Check

You don't need the new Search Console report to get a feel for whether AI is showing your business. Try this.

1. Open Google and search the way a customer would: your main service plus your city ("emergency plumber Erie," "family dentist Erie"). Note whether an AI answer shows up at the top.

2. Read who it names. Are you in there, or is it listing competitors? Write down which businesses it quotes.

3. Try three real questions your customers ask ("how much does this cost," "are you open on Sundays"). See which ones pull you in and which leave you out.

The gaps are your content plan.

Thanks for reading! Got questions? Ideas? I'm all ears. Share your thoughts with me and help shape future editions of Epic Insights.

— Kristy Freeman
Epic Web Studios
k.freeman@epicwebstudios.com
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