Google Search Console introduces query grouping feature

Google announced Query groups for Search Console Insights on October 27, 2025, introducing an AI-powered tool designed to consolidate similar search queries into unified clusters for easier analysis.

The feature addresses a persistent challenge in search performance analysis: the fragmentation of search data across numerous query variations. According to the announcement, users often encounter "a dozen different variations for a single user question - including common misspellings, slightly different phrasing, and different languages." This fragmentation makes it difficult to identify overarching user interests and develop strategic content plans.

Google provided a practical example demonstrating how users search for guacamole dip recipes. Variations include "how to make guacamole dip," "recipe for guacamole dip," "guacamole dip recipe," "guac dip recipe," "easy guacamole dip recipe," "simple guacamole dip recipe," "guacamole dip recipe easy," and "how to make guacamole dip easy." While these constitute distinct queries in traditional analytics, they reflect similar user intent. The volume of such variations, according to the announcement, "makes it tedious to identify the main user interest and plan content strategically."

Query groups consolidate these variations into single clusters. Instead of lengthy lists of individual queries, website owners now see consolidated groups representing primary audience interests. The groups are generated using AI and, according to Google, "may evolve and change over time." The company emphasized that "they are designed for providing a better high level perspective of your queries and don't affect ranking."

Technical implementation and features

The feature manifests through a new card called "Queries leading to your site" within the Insights report. This card presents three key components for each query group.

First, group performance displays aggregate click data for entire clusters. According to the announcement, users "will see the total clicks for the entire group, giving you the overall group's performance." Second, a queries list shows individual queries belonging to each group, ordered by clicks. The announcement notes this list "may be truncated," with "the query with the largest number of clicks" appearing first to facilitate quick group identification.

Third, a drill-down function allows users to click any group and access the performance report, where they can "see all the individual, granular queries that make up that group and further analyze them."

The card organizes website queries using three distinct variations. "Top" displays groups with the highest click volume. "Trending up" shows groups where clicks increased most compared to the previous period. "Trending down" presents groups where clicks decreased most compared to the previous period.

Availability and rollout

Google specified that the feature "will be rolling out gradually over the coming weeks" as a new card in the Search Console Insights report. However, availability is restricted. According to the announcement, "Query groups are available only to properties that have a large volume of queries, as the need to group queries is less relevant for sites with fewer queries."

The company has not disclosed specific volume thresholds that determine eligibility for the feature.

Context for marketing professionals

For marketing professionals, particularly those managing paid search campaigns, this development represents a significant shift in how search intent data can be analyzed at scale. Search Console has long tracked click-through rates and other organic metrics, but the fragmentation of query data has made pattern recognition labor-intensive.

The grouping mechanism could influence how marketers approach keyword research and content strategy. Rather than optimizing for individual long-tail variations, content strategists may now focus on broader query groups that capture user intent categories. This shift mirrors existing practices in paid search, where keyword match types already group related queries, but brings that clustering capability to organic search analysis.

The AI-powered nature of the grouping presents both opportunities and complications. Since groups "may evolve and change over time," historical comparisons could become more complex. A query group's composition in October might differ from its composition in December, potentially complicating quarter-over-quarter analyses.

Google's Search Console updates have historically focused on providing more granular data, but this feature moves in the opposite direction by consolidating information. The restriction to high-volume properties suggests the feature targets enterprise websites and popular content publishers rather than small businesses or niche sites.

The "Trending up" and "Trending down" categorizations could prove particularly valuable for identifying emerging search trends before they peak. Marketers who monitor these trends early might gain competitive advantages in content creation and paid search bidding strategies.

However, the lack of control over grouping criteria could frustrate users accustomed to manual segmentation. The announcement provides no indication that users can customize grouping parameters, adjust sensitivity thresholds, or override AI decisions about which queries belong together.

Feedback mechanisms

Google encouraged users to test the feature and provide feedback. According to the announcement, users should "provide feedback through the thumbs up and thumbs down available in the cards and, if needed, with Submit feedback." The company also suggested sharing comments on LinkedIn or posting in the Google Search Central Community.

Moshe Samet, Product Manager Lead for Search Console, authored the announcement. The feature joins other recent Search Console enhancements aimed at simplifying data interpretation for website owners and SEO professionals.

The practical impact of Query groups will depend largely on how accurately the AI clusters queries and whether the groupings align with how marketers conceptualize user intent. Sites with sufficient query volume to access the feature will need to evaluate whether the automated groupings match their internal categorization schemes or require supplementary analysis.

Timeline

• October 27, 2025: Google announced Query groups feature for Search Console Insights
• Coming weeks: Feature rolling out gradually to eligible properties with high query volumes
• Google expanded Search Console with domain-level reports
• Search Console added Core Web Vitals reporting
• Google introduced Discover performance metrics in Search Console

Summary

Who: Google announced the feature through Moshe Samet, Product Manager Lead for Search Console. The feature targets website owners and SEO professionals managing properties with high query volumes.

What: Query groups is an AI-powered feature that consolidates similar search queries into unified clusters within Search Console Insights. The feature displays group performance metrics, lists constituent queries by clicks, and offers drill-down capabilities for detailed analysis across three categories: Top, Trending up, and Trending down.

When: Google announced the feature on October 27, 2025, with a gradual rollout scheduled over the coming weeks.

Where: The feature appears as a new "Queries leading to your site" card within the Search Console Insights report, accessible only to properties with large query volumes.

Why: The feature addresses the challenge of analyzing fragmented search data across numerous query variations, which according to Google, makes it "tedious to identify the main user interest and plan content strategically." The AI-powered grouping provides a higher-level perspective of user intent patterns without affecting search rankings.