Google Search Console's Multimodal Report: What Visual Search Means for You

On September 24, 2026, Google added a Multimodal filter to Search Console, so you can now see how much traffic comes from people who searched with a picture instead of words. If your site shows impressions from Google Lens, Circle to Search, or image uploads, shoppers are discovering your business through its photos, and a few image optimizations can turn that discovery into calls and orders.

What the multimodal report actually tracks

Inside the Performance report, the Search type filter now splits Web into two options: text-based and multimodal. Web: multimodal covers searches where an image, photo, or screenshot was part of the query, while typed queries stay under Web: text-based. Four entry points count: Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome's right-click "Search this image" option.

The same split appears in the Generative AI features report, so you can also see when image-started searches surface your site inside AI Overviews and AI Mode. The filtered data can be exported for your regular reporting.

The rollout began globally on September 24, 2026, and metrics appear only for sites that already receive this traffic. Trade coverage notes it was never included in older web counts, so this is genuinely new measurement, not a relabeling.

Why this matters for small businesses

Visual search is product discovery for the real world. A shopper photographs a chair in a cafe, circles a jacket in a video, or uploads a screenshot of a hairstyle, and Google shows where to buy it or book it. For retailers, restaurants, salons, tradespeople, and any business with photogenic work, the photo is the query, and the business with the clearest, best-described images wins.

Until now, these visits were invisible. Now you can measure them, which means you can invest in photography and image SEO with real data behind the decision.

How to read your own numbers

1. Open the Performance report and set the search type to Multimodal. Find the Search type filter, choose Multimodal, and click Apply.
2. See which pages earn the impressions. The report shows pages, countries, devices, clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position. The query dimension is unavailable, because Google provides no query text for image-based traffic.
3. Compare multimodal against text-based. Look at the share, not just the totals. If several percent of your impressions come from cameras and photos, your photography is already a marketing channel.
4. Watch for the dip in text-based totals. Some site owners saw web impressions fall when the filter went live, because the multimodal slice was carved out of the old web totals. Numbers from before September 24 are not directly comparable to numbers after.
5. Export and track the trend monthly. Build a simple monthly series from the Export button. Visual search demand grows as cameras get smarter, so the direction of the line matters more than any single month.

Related reading: our guide to Google Search Console's AI visibility report covers the other new Search Console report worth checking this month.

Five ways to win more visual search traffic

1. Give every product and project photo a descriptive file name and alt text. "red-leather-handbag.jpg" with a real description beats "IMG_2041.jpg" every time. Search engines and AI assistants both read these signals.
2. Keep image URLs crawlable. Use a normal img tag with a real src attribute. Images loaded as CSS backgrounds are not indexed by Google as images, so photos hidden in backgrounds never get a chance to rank.
3. Place high-quality photos near relevant text. Put your clearest product, menu, portfolio, and before-and-after photos close to the words that describe them. Google and AI assistants use the surrounding text to understand what a picture shows.
4. Show real work, not stock. Original photos of your actual products, dishes, rooms, and completed jobs are what visual searchers try to match. A plumber's real before-and-after shots surface where generic stock never will.
5. Add structured data where it fits. Product, Recipe, and LocalBusiness markup helps Google connect your images to prices, reviews, and location. Our earlier piece on getting online stores ready for AI checkout shows how the same data feeds AI shopping features too.

Frequently asked questions

What is the multimodal filter in Search Console?

It is a new option in the Search type filter of the Performance report. Choosing it isolates traffic from searches that began with an image: Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads, and Chrome's Search this image feature.

Which searches count as multimodal?

Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome's right-click "Search this image" option. Typed queries continue to be reported separately as Web: text-based.

Can I see the exact images people searched with?

No. The report shows which of your pages surfaced, with clicks, impressions, CTR, and position, but not the submitted photo or the query text. You learn where visual searchers land, not what they pointed their camera at.

Why did my web impressions dip when the filter launched?

The multimodal slice was carved out of the old Web totals. That traffic existed before but was never counted in web reports; now it sits on its own line. Compare text-based to text-based across the change.

Does the filter also work in the AI features report?

Yes. The same Web: text-based and Web: multimodal split appears in the Generative AI features report, so you can see when image-started searches surface your site inside AI Overviews and AI Mode.

The bottom line

Customers are searching with their cameras, and now you can see how often that brings them to your site. Check the multimodal filter this week, fix your image basics on the pages it highlights, and treat your product photography as the ranking asset it provably is.

If you want help turning your photos and pages into search traffic, talk to the team at Synthvora Growth. We audit image SEO, structured data, and Search Console reports for small businesses every week, and we will give you an honest assessment of where you stand.