Google Search Console Adds Multimodal Filter for Image-Based Searches
Google rolls out a multimodal filter in Search Console covering Google Lens, Circle to Search and image uploads — but the data arrives without query-level insight.
Updated
The brief
- Google began a global rollout of a multimodal filter in Search Console's Performance report
- The filter covers Google Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads and Chrome's 'Search this image'
- Multimodal traffic comes without query data, so analysis is limited to page-level metrics
Google has begun a global rollout of a multimodal filter in Search Console's Performance report, giving site owners their first structured view of traffic from searches that started with an image rather than a query.
The filter, announced on the Search Central blog, captures searches made through Google Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search, and the Chrome right-click "Search this image" feature. Google said the rollout started today, so the option may not appear in every property yet.
Where the filter sits
Users will find the multimodal option under the Web search type. Google's updated Performance report help page now splits Web traffic into two categories: text-based traffic from queries typed into the standard search bar, and multimodal traffic, which "includes web search results where an image was used as part of the search."
Harsh Kharbanda, Product Manager Lead for Google Lens, and Moshe Samet, Product Manager Lead for Search Console, framed the value of the change plainly.
"This update is designed to give you insights into how your content is surfaced when users search using images (such as with a smartphone camera)," they wrote.
The metrics appear only for sites that actually receive traffic from these searches, according to the post. Google also confirmed that multimodal reporting is extending to the generative AI performance report, which became available to all sites on Aug. 31. That report counts impressions, not clicks.
No query data for multimodal traffic
The filter comes with a significant limitation: no query data. Google's dimensions help page explains the logic.
"Because multimodal searches mostly use images rather than text, specific text query data isn't available for this traffic," the page states.
The queries tab disappears entirely when users select the multimodal search type. The help page does not flag any other dimension as unavailable for these searches.
Exporting the data is possible through the Export button in the report. The Search Analytics API reference, last updated Aug. 11, lists web, image, video, news, Discover and Google News as report types — but no separate multimodal value for the type parameter.
What marketers can and cannot learn
For retailers and other sites that rely on product photography, the filter offers a page-level view of what users find when they search with a phone picture or a screenshot. Analysts can compare those pages against traffic driven by text searches, broken down by country and device.
The absence of query data leaves page-level signals only. A product page with multimodal clicks confirms it was clicked from a search where an image played a part. It does not reveal which image the searcher used.
Google's post does not clarify whether multimodal data includes history predating today's launch, or whether the split alters existing Web totals. Once the option appears in a property, marketers should compare the new split against a full day of Web totals to see how Google is accounting for the change.
Based on developers.google.com
Filed under google-search-console, google-lens, multimodal-search, seo
James Calloway
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Market editor covering media and advertising at Marketing Herald.