In this article
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.
Connect a visual click to a useful page
The multimodal filter shows a discovery route, not necessarily the exact photo that triggered a visit. Start with pages receiving clicks and inspect their visible images, captions, and surrounding copy. A product page with five visually distinct variants but one generic image may answer a photo based search poorly. Add clear pictures of variants actually for sale and make sure the page explains price, material, size, and availability.
Avoid two measurement mistakes
First, do not compare a period before the filter existed with a later period as though the same report was always available. Second, do not equate clicks with revenue without checking the analytics journey or orders. Keep a dated export of affected pages and countries, then observe the trend over several weeks. At low volume, inspect example pages rather than celebrating a large percentage based on three clicks.
Store example
A lighting store sees multimodal visits to its rattan lamp page. It checks whether the image shows the lamp in use and whether dimensions and compatible bulbs are stated, then compares cart adds from that page across traffic sources. If visitors leave quickly, the page may need to answer the visual question better. For image eligibility, consult the Google Images documentation.
