Google Adds Web Multimodal Search Reporting to Search Console

Search Console now includes a multimodal search type filter. Site owners can use that filter to isolate traffic generated by image-led search experiences from other Search performance data. The filter gives teams a clearer way to understand whether visual discovery is contributing to visits and engagement.

Google also allows the filtered data to be exported. This makes it possible to add multimodal search performance to existing dashboards, reporting routines, and historical comparisons without treating it as a separate analytics system.

The announcement names four types of multimodal activity:

• Searches performed with Google Lens.
• Circle to Search activity on Android.
• Images uploaded directly to Google Search.
• Chrome searches started with the “Search this image” command.

This scope matters because multimodal search is not the same as all AI-assisted Search activity. The announcement focuses on searches initiated with an image or visual interaction. It does not say that the new filter is a ranking signal, and it does not announce a new method for improving positions in Search.

Visual discovery can be difficult to separate from ordinary Search performance when all activity is viewed in one aggregate report. The new filter gives publishers, retailers, and content teams a more focused view of how visual assets help people find their pages.

In practice, web multimodal Search reporting can improve reporting decisions. A team can compare multimodal activity before and after updating product photography, diagrams, screenshots, image captions, or page structure. It can also identify pages that receive visual-search traffic and deserve closer review.

Start in the Search Console Performance report and apply the multimodal search type filter. If the property has eligible traffic, review the available performance data and export it for analysis alongside the rest of your Search reporting.

1. Create a baseline for pages receiving multimodal search traffic.
2. Compare those pages with similar pages that do not appear in the filtered data.
3. Review the quality, relevance, placement, captions, and alternative text of their images.
4. Track changes over time instead of drawing conclusions from a short period.
5. Annotate major image or page updates so later reporting has context.

Use the report as a measurement tool, not as proof of how Google ranks content. The official announcement describes new visibility into performance; it does not promise that a particular image format, schema type, or writing pattern will increase rankings.

Google announced a global rollout beginning on September 24, 2026. A property will show the metrics only when it receives traffic from the covered multimodal queries, so the absence of data does not necessarily indicate a technical problem.

Add the multimodal filter to routine Search Console reviews, export the data where useful, and identify the pages that already attract visual-search traffic. Then evaluate those pages with normal quality principles: useful imagery, clear context, accessible alternative text, accurate captions, and content that satisfies the user’s intent.

Most importantly, keep the interpretation narrow. The report provides a new lens on visual search performance. It is not an announcement that all generative Search appearances are now fully measurable, and it should not be used to make claims that the source does not support.

Finally, use web multimodal Search reporting alongside the rest of your Search performance analysis. Read the official Google Search Central announcement for rollout details and links to the relevant Search Console documentation.