Google Just Changed Search Console, Your Images Can Now Bring You Search Traffic You Couldn't See Before

Google Just Changed Search Console, Your Images Can Now Bring You Search Traffic You Couldn't See Before

Google Search is becoming less dependent on typed keywords. People can now point a camera at something, upload an image, circle an object on their phone, or search an image directly from Chrome. Until now, understanding how those searches were sending people to websites was difficult because Search Console did not give site owners a dedicated view of this traffic.

That changed on September 24, 2026. Google introduced web multimodal Search performance reporting inside Search Console, giving publishers and businesses a new way to understand how their websites appear when people use images as part of their searches.

Google says the new reporting covers searches involving Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome's right click Search this image feature. The rollout is global, and eligible sites will begin seeing the data in their Performance reports.

What Is Multimodal Search?

Multimodal search is a search that uses more than traditional text. Instead of typing something like "black leather handbag," a person might take a photograph of a handbag and ask Google to find similar products or information about it.

The same idea works with screenshots, objects, products, places, clothing, technology, artwork, and many other things. The image becomes part of the search itself.

This matters because the search journey can start with a picture rather than a keyword. A person may never type the exact phrase that describes the product or topic they are interested in, but Google can still use the image to discover relevant web pages.

What Google Added to Search Console

Google has added a new Multimodal option inside the Search type filters in its Performance reports.

Instead of seeing only traditional text based web search data, website owners can now separate Web results into Text based and Multimodal searches.

Google is also adding multimodal search information to its Generative AI features performance reporting. This gives publishers another way to understand how their content is appearing as search becomes increasingly visual and AI driven.

The data can be exported from Search Console, which means businesses can also combine it with their own reporting and analytics workflows.

What Searches Are Included?

Google's new reporting includes several visual search experiences that people may already be using without thinking about them as SEO traffic.

Google Lens allows users to search using their smartphone camera or an existing image.

Circle to Search lets Android users select something on their screen and search for it without leaving the current experience.

Image uploads allow users to give Google an image directly as part of a search.

Chrome's Search this image feature allows users to search an image directly from the browser.

These experiences are different from traditional Google Images searches. The new reporting is specifically designed to show web performance when an image is part of the search.

Why This Is Important for SEO

For years, image SEO was often treated as a supporting part of a website's overall optimization strategy. Businesses focused on filenames, alt text, image compression, structured data, and making images discoverable.

The new Search Console reporting gives businesses something they previously lacked: a clearer way to measure whether visual search is actually producing visibility for their website.

That changes the conversation from "Are my images optimized?" to "Are people discovering my website through visual searches?"

A product page could appear when someone photographs a product. A travel website could appear when someone searches using an image of a landmark. A design agency could potentially be discovered through visual searches involving branding, websites, graphics, or design examples.

The exact opportunity depends on the type of content a website publishes, but the underlying change is the same. Images can now be analyzed as part of a broader search discovery system rather than simply as decoration on a webpage.

How to Find Multimodal Search Data in Google Search Console

Open Google Search Console and select the website you want to analyze.

Go to the Performance section and open the Search results report.

Look for the Search type filter and select the Web option. Google is introducing separate Text based and Multimodal categories for web searches.

Once the data is available for your property, you can compare multimodal performance with traditional text based performance.

Google says the reporting can provide insights into metrics such as impressions and clicks, with data that can be analyzed through the Performance reports and exported for further analysis.

What Should Businesses Do With This Data?

The most useful approach is not to immediately change every image on your website. First, look at which pages are receiving multimodal visibility.

If a product page, service page, article, or guide is receiving impressions from visual searches, examine what makes that page useful. Look at the images, surrounding text, page structure, product information, and the overall search intent the page satisfies.

Then compare those pages with important pages that receive strong text based visibility but little or no multimodal visibility.

This can help you identify where visual search may represent an additional discovery channel.

Image SEO Matters More Than Just Alt Text

Optimizing images is not simply about adding keywords to an alt attribute. Search engines need to understand the image and the page where that image appears.

Use descriptive image filenames when appropriate. Make images clearly relevant to the surrounding content. Provide useful page context. Keep important images technically accessible to search engines. Use high quality original visuals where they genuinely improve the page.

For product pages, include useful product information around the images. For articles, make sure images actually support the subject being discussed. For service pages, show real examples where appropriate instead of relying entirely on generic stock photography.

The goal is not to manipulate visual search. The goal is to make the relationship between the image, the page, and the user's search intent obvious.

This Could Matter for AI Search Too

One of the more interesting parts of Google's announcement is that multimodal search reporting is also being integrated into the Generative AI features performance report.

That reflects a broader change in search. AI systems increasingly work with text, images, screenshots, products, and other types of information instead of relying only on traditional keyword queries.

For businesses working on AEO and GEO, this means visibility cannot be treated as a purely text based problem.

A company may need strong written content, clear entity information, useful images, structured product or service information, and pages that make sense when interpreted by both traditional search systems and AI powered search experiences.

Google Is Also Rolling Out a September Spam Update

There is another important Google Search change happening at the same time. Google began rolling out its September 2026 spam update on September 24, 2026.

Google's Search Status Dashboard says the update applies globally and to all languages, and that the rollout may take up to two weeks to complete.

Google has not publicly identified a specific spam tactic or type of website that this update targets. That means website owners should be careful about blaming the update for every ranking movement they see during the rollout.

If your traffic changes significantly, compare the timing with your Search Console data and review Google's spam policies before making major SEO changes.

What This Means for Website Owners in 2026

Search is becoming increasingly visual, conversational, and multimodal. A user does not always begin with a typed keyword anymore.

Someone can start with a photograph. They can circle something on their screen. They can upload an image. They can ask an AI system about a screenshot. They can then be directed toward a webpage that provides the information they need.

Google's new Search Console reporting does not create a new ranking factor by itself. What it does provide is visibility into a part of search behavior that was previously harder to isolate.

That makes the new report particularly useful for businesses that depend on products, visual content, design, travel, fashion, technology, local information, or other subjects where images can communicate intent faster than words.

The Bigger SEO Shift

The important change is not simply that Google added another filter to Search Console.

The bigger shift is that search measurement is beginning to reflect how people actually search in the real world. People do not always know the right keyword. Sometimes they know what something looks like.

For website owners, that means the question is no longer only whether a page ranks for a keyword. It is also whether the content can be discovered when the user's starting point is an image.

The businesses that adapt to this change will have another source of search data to study. And for SEO teams, that data could reveal opportunities that traditional keyword reporting never showed.

FAQ

What is multimodal search in Google Search Console?

Multimodal search refers to web searches where an image is used as part of the search. Google's new Search Console reporting includes experiences such as Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome's Search this image feature.

Where can I see multimodal search data?

The new data appears in Google Search Console's Performance reporting. Under the Web search type, eligible websites can see separate Text based and Multimodal search data.

Is multimodal search the same as Google Images?

No. Google's new multimodal reporting is separate from the traditional Google Images search type. It focuses on web searches where an image is part of the search experience.

Does Google Lens send traffic to websites?

It can. Google's new Search Console reporting is specifically designed to help website owners understand how their content performs when users search with images through experiences such as Google Lens.

Does image SEO still matter in 2026?

Yes. Images can contribute to how users discover and understand a webpage, and Google's new reporting makes visual search performance easier to measure. Image SEO should be treated as part of the overall page experience rather than as a standalone trick.

Can I see exactly which image caused a multimodal search?

The new reporting provides performance information for multimodal searches, but it does not necessarily identify the exact image a user used to begin every search. Businesses should therefore use the data as a performance signal rather than assuming every click can be traced to a specific image.

Does this mean websites should replace keyword SEO with image SEO?

No. Text based search remains important. Multimodal search should be viewed as an additional discovery channel rather than a replacement for traditional SEO.

The Bottom Line

Google just gave website owners a new way to see how visual search contributes to search visibility. The September 2026 Search Console update covers Google Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads, and Chrome's Search this image experience, bringing multimodal search into Google's performance reporting.

For businesses, the immediate opportunity is simple: check whether your important pages are appearing in multimodal searches, understand which types of content are getting visibility, and make sure your images genuinely help users understand what your page is about.

Search is no longer just about what people type. Increasingly, it is also about what they see.