Search Console Multimodal Report: What It Shows and Hides

The Search Console multimodal report is a "Web: multimodal" filter that shows how your pages appear when people search with an image, in the Search results report and, as impressions only, in the Generative AI report for AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google announced it on its Search Central blog on September 24, 2026.

Key points

• Search Console now splits web search traffic into "text-based" and "multimodal" (searches that start from a photo or image).
• The multimodal split also appears in the Generative AI performance report, which counts impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
• You see pages, countries, devices and dates for this traffic, but not the search query, because there often isn't one.

How is it different from the other search types?

What did Google announce?

Google's post, "Announcing web multimodal Search performance reporting in Search Console," says that "as Search evolves to include more visual and multimodal experiences," it wants site owners to have the data to analyze that performance. The announcement says the data "is rolling out globally starting today."

Until now, a search that began with a phone camera was mostly invisible in your reports. Google's John Mueller confirmed on Bluesky that "the data wasn't previously in the counts," so this is new data, not old data relabelled.

What is multimodal search in Search Console?

Multimodal search, in Search Console, is search traffic that starts from an image rather than typed words. Google's Search Console help says it includes searches from Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, uploaded images and Chrome image search. Typed searches are now reported separately as "text-based."

For a local or service business, picture who does this. Someone photographs a broken part, a plant with spots on its leaves, a damaged roof or a product on a shelf, and asks Google what it is or where to get it fixed. Those searches can now produce an AI Overview or an AI Mode answer, and your page may be one of the links in it.

Does the multimodal report cover AI Overviews and AI Mode?

Yes. Google's help page for the Generative AI performance report lists AI Overviews and AI Mode as the features it tracks, and offers two search type filters: "Web: text-based" and "Web: multimodal." Google says it rolled that report out to all websites worldwide as of August 31, 2026.

Neither report gives you queries for this traffic. Google's Search Console help says that because these searches mostly use images, "the queries dimension isn't available when this search type is selected." You'll see which page showed up, not what picture prompted it.

How do I find the Search Console multimodal report?

1. Open Search Console and choose your property.
2. Go to the Performance section and open the Search results report.
3. Click the search type filter at the top and choose "Web: multimodal."
4. Group by Pages to see which URLs earn image-led visibility.
5. Repeat in the Generative AI performance report to see impressions in AI Overviews and AI Mode for the same filter.

If the multimodal option shows little or nothing, that describes only what Search Console recorded for this property and date range. If the Generative AI report is missing entirely, Google says this "usually happens when your site hasn't received enough impressions in generative AI features on Google Search."

What should an owner do about it?

Start by reading what's there, then fix the pages that should be showing up and aren't.

Read the pages, not the totals

Sort the multimodal view by page. Look at what each top page actually shows. A page about a specific product, part, symptom or job site is probably being matched to photos of that thing. That is your best clue to the searches you can't see.

Compare text-based and multimodal

Run the same date range under each filter. The Generative AI report doesn't split AI Overviews from AI Mode, so compare each page's combined generative AI impressions under "Web: text-based" and "Web: multimodal."

Hypothetical example: a landscaping company sees plenty of multimodal impressions on its lawn-disease page and almost none on its irrigation-repair page. The counts alone don't set the priority. The owner picks the irrigation page because that's the service they want more of, finds one stock photo and no explanation, and replaces it with real photos of broken sprinkler heads, each next to a short note on the cause and the fix.

Make your images easy for Google to understand

Google's own image SEO best practices are the plain starting point. Google calls descriptive alt text "the most important attribute" for giving it information about an image. It also says to place images "near relevant text and on pages that are relevant to the image subject matter," to use descriptive file names instead of names like "IMG00023.JPG," and to prefer sharp, high-quality images. Use standard image tags, not CSS backgrounds, so Google can find the images at all.

For a service business, that means real photos of the things customers photograph: the equipment you repair, the problems you fix, the products you stock. Put each next to a clear written explanation of what it is and what you do about it.

Keep the text answer strong too

Multimodal searches still lead to written answers in AI Overviews and AI Mode. The same basics that earn a link from a typed question apply here. Our post on what Google changed in AI search in 2026 covers what Google says you need to appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode. For the wider picture across engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, see how AI search optimization works.

Why does this matter now?

Because the multimodal data wasn't in the counts before, a rise in your impressions after the rollout may reflect a change in what Google measures, not more people looking for you. Before you credit a recent site change for a bump, check how much of it sits under the multimodal filter. Then export the multimodal pages from the Search results report and mark the ones that sell a service you want more of. That list decides which pages get new photos and written explanations first.

FAQ

Can I see what people searched for in the multimodal report?

No. Google says the queries dimension isn't available for multimodal traffic, because most of these searches use an image rather than text. You can see pages, countries, devices and dates.

Does the Generative AI report show clicks from AI Overviews?

No. Google's help page says the report shows impressions, meaning how many times links to your site were shown in AI Overviews or AI Mode. It doesn't show clicks or queries.

Is the multimodal data new, or just relabelled?

New. Google's John Mueller said the data wasn't previously in the counts, so totals may rise because previously uncounted searches are now included.

What's the first thing to do with the Search Console multimodal report?

Open it, group by page and look at which URLs appear. Then improve the images and the text on the pages that should be showing up for camera searches, starting with Google's image SEO guidance. The Search Console multimodal report won't tell you the query, but your best pages will tell you the topic.