Google adds multimodal Search reporting to Search Console
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Google adds multimodal Search reporting to Search Console
the camera on the desk just found its own reflection
Google is starting to show image-led Search traffic in Search Console and the bunker wants to call every blur a revelation
wipe the lens before you count
THE SIGNAL
Google announced on September 24, 2026 that Search Console is adding a Web: multimodal search type filter. It separates web searches that use an image from text-based searches in the Search results Performance report and the Generative AI performance report. Google says the global rollout has begun; properties with traffic from these searches should start seeing the new metrics.
ON THE RECORD
- Google's examples include Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome's "Search this image". These describe how a search started, not a new kind of page that site owners must create.
- In the Search results Performance report, the filter can be used with clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position. You can inspect the pages, countries, devices, and dates behind the totals.
- The Generative AI performance report also defines Web: multimodal. That report presents impression data, so do not assume its numbers are directly interchangeable with the Search results report's clicks and impressions.
STILL STATIC
Google has not given a completion date or a property-by-property rollout schedule. A missing filter or an empty chart today does not tell us that a site gets no image-assisted discovery. We also have no first-hand property export showing how the new category appears over time. This announcement concerns reporting; Google has not announced a ranking or indexing change with it.
DON'T TOUCH THE WIRES
If your site publishes images that people might search with, open Search Console's Search results Performance report and select Search type > Web: multimodal. Set the date range from September 24 onward, then export the page, country, device, and date views for the same property. Save the export and check it again after the newest data has settled. Look for repeatable activity on specific pages before changing image content or markup; the filter alone is no reason to rebuild either.
Seeing the filter or an odd result? Send the property type, date range, page URL, country, device, a screenshot, and a redacted export so we can test the pattern.