On September 24, 2026, Google began rolling out a multimodal search filter in Search Console's performance reports. It includes searches using Lens, Circle to Search on Android, images uploaded to Google Search, and Chrome's right-click image search. Google says the data appears in Search results and Generative AI features reports when a site receives relevant traffic. See the Google Search Central announcement.

What the filter can tell you

The report can identify pages receiving impressions and clicks through these visual search journeys. It does not equate a Lens click with a sale, nor does an empty report prove that all of your images are absent from Google. Availability is rolling out, and small sites may have too little relevant traffic for a stable comparison.

Open Search Console's Performance report, select the multimodal search type, then inspect pages and countries. Export the data and keep it separate from order or lead information in your analytics system. Search discovery and business outcomes are related questions, but they require different measurements.

Choose images with a job to do

For a store, sample product pages where photography conveys the actual item, a distinguishing detail, a variant, or a use case. For a service business, sample project pages where an image helps explain the work. Check that the image is accessible, appears on a useful landing page, and has relevant surrounding text. Google's image guidance describes the value of page context and descriptive text.

Then inspect the journey after the click. A visually appealing result that lands on an unavailable variant or an uninformative page may attract attention without helping a buyer. Fix the page and catalog facts before commissioning more images.

Repeat the same comparison

Record five pages, their key images, multimodal impressions and clicks, and the next meaningful action on the site. Compare those same pages again over a similar period. An impression increase shows discovery; it does not prove added revenue or a citation in an AI answer. Keep that distinction in your report so a new metric leads to a useful decision.

SEARCH ENGINE TRENDS

Put the idea into practice.

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