If you’re tired of combing through hundreds of near-duplicate queries in Search Console, this update will save you hours.
Google has added Query groups to Search Console Insights, an AI-powered feature that clusters similar searches into intent-level topics. In one view, you can see which themes drive clicks, spot trends, and prioritize actions – without exports or regex gymnastics.
For details, see Google’s announcement, Introducing Query groups in Search Console Insights
- Where it lives: Open Search Console → Insights → “Queries leading to your site”. You’ll see a Query groups card that clusters similar searches by topic.
- What it shows: Total clicks per group, with indicators for groups trending up or down.
- Availability (important): Not everyone will see this yet. Google is rolling it out gradually and it’s prioritized for properties with larger query volumes; also, the Insights report itself may not be available to all properties.
- Who gets it first: Rolling out over the next weeks, especially to high-volume properties where clustering is most useful.
- Why it helps: You get topic-level performance instead of noisy keyword lists, so you can plan content around intent and clusters, not one-off terms.
What is Query groups in Search Console Insights?
Query groups is a new Search Console Insights feature that groups similar search queries (including variations and near-duplicates) so site owners can quickly understand which topics drive clicks to their site.
This shifts analysis from individual keywords to intent-level clusters without exporting data or building manual regex filters.
Before this feature, you could filter or regex-match related queries in the Performance report, but there wasn’t a native, intent-level grouping. Now, Google’s AI does that clustering for you in Insights.
How to use AI query grouping (step-by-step)
1.Open Insights: In Search Console, click Insights (top of the left nav).
2.Find the card: Scroll to “Queries leading to your site.” Look for Query groups.
3.Scan the groups: Note total clicks per group and which groups are trending up/down. Screenshot key groups for your weekly notes.
1.Drill down: Expand a group to see representative queries. Identify pages earning clicks for that group and their current intent (informational, commercial, brand).
2.Decide the action:
- Strengthen a winner: Add FAQs, internal links, or a comparison section to the page already winning the group.
- Fix cannibalization: If multiple pages split clicks, consolidate with redirects or differentiate intent (guide vs comparison vs pricing).
- Create a gap-filling asset: If clicks concentrate on informational queries but commercial intent exists, add a BoFU asset (pricing, case studies).
- Strengthen a winner: Add FAQs, internal links, or a comparison section to the page already winning the group.
6.Report the impact: Track group clicks/CTR over time. Pair with GA4 sessions or conversions to tie the cluster to business value.
7.Repeat weekly: Treat Query groups like a standing agenda item in content ops and SEO sprint ceremonies.
Use cases: query clustering, topic clusters & intent analysis
- Build/refresh topic clusters: Use groups to validate your cluster map (pillar + supporting posts). Prioritize clusters trending up, and expand with comparison/FAQ content to widen coverage.
- Reduce keyword cannibalization: If two pages dominate the same group, choose a core URL, 301 consolidate thin variants, and align one supporting article to adjacent intent.
- Improve CTR: If a group shows strong clicks but middling CTR, test new titles/meta and add rich results (FAQ/HowTo) where appropriate.
- Content pruning: Identify groups with many impressions but few clicks; prune or merge thin articles that don’t align to the dominant intent.
- Localization & language: Because clustering captures variations and misspellings, you’ll spot multilingual interest or regional phrasing to feed into localized pages.
- Executive reporting: Groups make it easy to tell a “topics we own” story versus a list of 500 keywords – perfect for leadership decks.
What to Know Before You Compare Results
- Rollout variance: Don’t panic if you don’t see it yet – gradual rollout favors sites with higher query volume.
- Reporting shifts in Sept 2025: Impression trends since mid-September may not compare apples-to-apples due to GSC changes (e.g., removal of &num=100 affecting how impressions are counted). Adjust baselines when you evaluate “trending up/down.”
- Brand vs non-brand: A single group can mingle both; split decisions by brand vs non-brand intent to avoid skewed CTR or cannibalization fixes.
- Seasonality & news spikes: Trending groups can echo brand campaigns or news – confirm with external context before you over-optimize.
Conclusion
Google Search Console adds Query groups, turning scattered keywords into intent-level topics you can act on. Adopt a weekly rhythm: scan groups, fix cannibalization, expand winners, prune dead weight, and tie each group to business outcomes in GA4.
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FAQs
No. Regex groups still require manual patterns in the Performance report. Query groups are AI-driven clusters inside Search Console Insights that summarize related queries automatically.
It’s rolling out gradually and is most useful for high-volume sites, so availability may vary at first.
You’ll see total clicks per group and indicators for groups moving up or down. Use that to prioritize actions.
Today it’s an Insights card. You can still export query-level data from the Performance report to mirror groups in custom dashboards, but the native grouping lives in Insights.
Be careful: September 2025 reporting adjustments changed how impressions are counted. Re-baseline your models from mid-September onward.
