Search Console Splits Web Into Text-Based and Multimodal

Key Takeaways

• Search Console's Search type filter now splits Web into Text-based and Multimodal, announced by Google on Thursday, 24 September 2026.
• Multimodal covers searches that start with an image: Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome's right-click "Search this image".
• The queries dimension is not available for multimodal traffic, because those searches use an image rather than typed text.
• John Mueller confirmed this is new data, not a re-slicing of your existing Web numbers, so a rise in totals is reporting catching up, not a ranking win.

What Happened

According to Google Search Central, Google introduced multimodal reporting in Search Console on Thursday, 24 September 2026, in both the Search results performance report and the Generative AI features report. In Google's words, the update shows "how your content is surfaced when users search using images (such as with a smartphone camera)", and the data "includes searches with Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and the Chrome right-click 'Search this image' feature". The rollout is global and started that day, and the data can be exported like any other view.

Search Console's own help documentation now defines the two halves plainly. Web text-based "includes traditional search traffic originating from text queries entered into the standard Google search bar", while web multimodal "includes web search results where an image was used as part of the search".

Industry Impact & Ranking Volatility

The most important detail is not in the announcement. When Dave Smart asked on Bluesky whether these impressions had previously been bundled into Web, John Mueller replied that after checking with the team, "the data wasn't previously in the counts, the report has new data."

That single sentence changes how you should read your own charts. If your Web impressions step up around the rollout, the extra volume is visibility Google was not reporting before — not a sudden improvement you can attribute to work you shipped. Anyone writing a monthly report needs to say which half of the split they are quoting, or the numbers will look like growth that nobody earned. The same caution applies in reverse: comparing this month against last month without separating the two search types will overstate progress.

The second limitation is structural. Search Console states that "because multimodal searches mostly use images rather than text, specific text query data isn't available for this traffic", so the queries tab disappears when the filter is on. You get impressions, clicks, position, pages, countries and devices — enough to tell which pages are being found through a camera, but never which image or phrase triggered it.

For catalogue sites this is the first real measurement of something that has been invisible: a shopper photographing a product in a shop and landing on your page. That makes product imagery, alt text and ecommerce SEO a measurable channel rather than an article of faith, and it gives technical SEO work on image delivery a number to point at.

SearchPrex Action Checklist

1. Record your baseline before the split muddies it. Export your Web totals for the current reporting window now, then export text-based and multimodal separately once the filter appears on your property.
2. Re-label your reports. Any dashboard that says "Google organic" needs to state whether it includes multimodal, otherwise this month's comparison is not like-for-like.
3. Sort multimodal by page. The pages that appear are the ones people are photographing or circling — usually products, packaging and diagrams rather than your blog.
4. Fix the images on those pages first: descriptive file names and alt text, a large clean primary image, and Product or ImageObject structured data. Google gives no query data, so the page and its imagery are the only levers you control.
5. Watch the Generative AI report too. Multimodal reporting landed there as well, which matters if you are tracking AI search visibility.

Quick answers

Does multimodal include Google Lens traffic?

Yes. Google lists Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome's right-click "Search this image" as the surfaces reported under the multimodal search type.

Why can't I see queries for multimodal searches?

Because the search did not start with typed text. Search Console's documentation says specific text query data isn't available for this traffic, so the queries dimension is switched off when you select the filter.

Did my Web totals change because of this?

They may go up. John Mueller confirmed the multimodal figures were not previously counted, so this is additional data rather than the same impressions divided into two buckets. Treat any step-change on or after 24 September 2026 as reporting coverage, not performance.

📌 Original Source Reference: Read the primary announcement at Google Search Central, and the definitions in Search Console Help.

Sources

• Announcing web multimodal Search performance reporting in Search Console — Google Search Central, 24 September 2026.
• Performance report (Search results): Overview and basic setup — Search Console Help, search type definitions.
• Performance report (Search results): Dimensions and data groupings — Search Console Help, query data limitation.
• Multimodal Search Type Filter In Google Search Console Performance Report — Search Engine Roundtable, 24 September 2026, including John Mueller's reply on Bluesky.

Last verified: 25 September 2026.

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About the Author

Mubashar Sharif is a Verified SEO Expert and Senior Analyst at SearchPrex. He tracks daily SERP fluctuations, Google core algorithm shifts, and generative AI search architecture. Connect with Mubashar on LinkedIn.