Google Search Console added a filter for image and Lens searches, so the traffic people send you with their camera finally shows up in your reports.
Google now breaks out image and Lens search
On 24 September 2026, Google announced a new "Web: multimodal" filter in the Search type control of Search Console's Performance report, and began rolling it out globally the same day. Trade coverage confirmed the details: the filter groups the four ways people search with an image instead of typed words, namely Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and Chrome's right-click "Search this image." Any site already receiving visual-search traffic can see it.
The numbers land in two places: your standard Search results report, and the Generative AI features report that covers AI Overviews and AI Mode. You get clicks, impressions, CTR and average position, and you can group them by pages, countries, devices and dates. It sits alongside the way Bing's AI performance report surfaces how you are found in a search engine's own tools.
A page-level read, not a keyword one
There is a catch worth understanding. Because there is no text query behind an image search, Search Console cannot show a Queries dimension for multimodal traffic. You can see which of your pages people reach through a camera or a screenshot, but not the words they had in mind when they found you.
For a firm that wants to be found, this is still the first time visual and camera-led search is separated out. You can check whether people are reaching your pages through images, spot the pages that already earn that traffic, and keep them clear and quotable. There is nothing to switch on. When you want to turn a page-level read like this into something a partner group can act on, it helps to think about measuring visibility for boards rather than chasing individual terms. If image and AI-answer discovery is becoming part of how clients shortlist you, that is the ground our work on getting found in AI search covers.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to do anything?
No setting to switch on. If your site gets image or Lens search traffic, the "Web: multimodal" option now appears in the Search type filter of your Performance report. Open Search Console, filter to it, and see which pages show up.
Will this change my rankings?
No. It is a reporting addition. Your positions do not move; the filter simply shows the visual searches that were already reaching you.
Why can't I see the search terms?
There is no text query behind an image search, so Search Console cannot show a Queries dimension for multimodal traffic. You get clicks, impressions, CTR and average position, grouped by pages, countries, devices and dates, but not the words.
Can I see my past image-search data?
Treat it as new data from the rollout that Google confirmed on 24 September 2026. Do not assume a long history has been backfilled.
Where does the data show up?
Two places: your standard Search results Performance report, and the Generative AI features report that covers AI Overviews and AI Mode.
