Beyond the News
Sign in
Updated 25 Sep 2026: Adds Google’s September 24 Multimodal Search Console reporting: Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads and Chrome image search are now separated from text-based web search and surfaced alongside generative-AI reporting.
Marketing & DistributionSEO & SearchGEO & AI SearchConversion & Analytics Active dossier

Google Search Console now separates generative-AI and multimodal visibility from ordinary text search

Google has expanded Search Console’s first-party visibility reporting beyond generative AI: a new Multimodal search type separates Lens, Circle to Search, image-upload and Chrome image-search impressions from ordinary text-based web search.

Reviewed and published by Lars Jansen Updated 4 min read
Comment
First published

Key details

  1. Google added the Multimodal search type on September 24, 2026.
  2. It covers Google Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads and Chrome Search this image.
  3. Multimodal reporting separates these interactions from text-based web search.
  4. Google says the data is available in Search results Performance and Generative AI reporting.
  5. Search Console’s existing generative-AI reporting covers AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative Discover experiences.

What builders should take away

  1. Check the new Multimodal filter before attributing changes in aggregate web-search performance to ordinary typed queries.
  2. Sites with product imagery, diagrams, screenshots or visual tutorials should establish a multimodal baseline now so future changes are measurable.
  3. Treat multimodal visibility and generative-AI visibility as related but distinct discovery paths when building internal dashboards.
  4. Pair Search Console exposure data with analytics, CRM or ecommerce data before drawing ROI conclusions.
  5. Do not assume a rise in multimodal impressions proves a specific image optimisation caused the change.

What changed

Google launched dedicated Search Generative AI performance reports in June 2026 and has now added a separate Multimodal search type to Search Console’s web performance reporting. The Multimodal filter covers searches initiated through Google Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads and Chrome’s Search this image. Google says this data is available in both the ordinary Search results Performance report and its Generative AI reporting, separating image-led discovery from text-based web search.

Why it matters

Search Console is moving from one blended view of Google discovery toward reporting that distinguishes materially different search interfaces. Publishers can now measure visibility from generative features and from image-led multimodal journeys separately instead of treating them as ordinary typed web searches. That makes changes in traffic mix easier to diagnose, especially for visual products, ecommerce, tutorials and publishers whose images are frequently used as search inputs.

Multimodal becomes its own web-search reporting path

The new Multimodal filter separates searches that begin with an image or visual interaction from conventional text-based web searches. Google identifies Lens, Circle to Search, uploaded images and Chrome’s Search this image as included entry points.

The data also connects to generative-AI reporting

Google says multimodal data is available in both Search results Performance and Generative AI reporting. That matters because visual search and generative search increasingly overlap rather than behaving as isolated product surfaces.

AI visibility already had a separate first-party view

Search Console’s dedicated generative-AI reports cover AI Overviews, AI Mode and generative features in Discover, with page, country, device and time-series visibility. The multimodal addition extends the same broader trend: Search Console is exposing more of the interfaces hidden inside aggregate search totals.

Measurement is improving faster than attribution

The extra segmentation makes visibility and discovery-path analysis more useful, but it does not solve every attribution problem. Teams still need analytics and conversion data to connect Search Console exposure with visits, leads or revenue.

What to watch next

  • Whether Google adds query-level or richer click/attribution detail for multimodal searches.
  • Whether multimodal dimensions become available through Search Console APIs and bulk exports.
  • How visual-search reporting evolves as Lens, Circle to Search and AI Mode converge.
  • Whether Google adds finer segmentation between individual multimodal entry points.

Still unclear

  • Google may change how individual multimodal surfaces are grouped as its search interfaces converge.
  • Search Console exposure alone cannot establish downstream business value.
  • Availability can roll out progressively across properties and interfaces.

Sources

Direct reading behind this dossier.

3 sources

Discussion

Discussion is reader-contributed. Comments are not part of the BTN dossier or its editorial evidence.

0 visible comments

Join the discussion

Keep comments useful and relevant. Reader contributions may be moderated and are not BTN editorial evidence.

Sign in to comment
Continue reading
Marketing & Distribution

Ahrefs is making a Google-derived AI demand estimate the default in Brand Radar

Ahrefs is standardising Brand Radar on an estimated AI-demand metric because major AI platforms do not publish prompt volume. The new number can improve relative weighting between prompts and platforms, but it remains a modelled proxy rather than a count of how many people actually asked an AI system a question.