# Search Console now separates text and multimodal web search

Published: 2026-09-24T12:17:44.258Z · Source: Search Console performance report help (https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553)
Source date: 2026-09-24
Flags: spotted via documentation change (exact edit date unconfirmed) — AEO Wire watch
Entities: search-console, google

Google's Search Console performance report help page now splits the "Web" search-type filter into two defined categories: "text-based," for ordinary queries typed into the search bar, and "multimodal," for web results returned when an image was part of the search. AEO Wire's documentation watch caught the added wording on 2026-09-24; Google does not date individual help-page edits, so the exact change date is unconfirmed. The same section still lists image, video, and news as filter options without giving them an equivalent inline definition.

Why it matters: It gives SEOs and AEOs a first-party way in Search Console to isolate image-inclusive (multimodal) web search traffic from text queries, a reporting split that wasn't spelled out in the page's prior wording.

## What this answers

**What does "multimodal" mean in Google Search Console's search type filter?**

It's Google's label for web search results where an image was used as part of the query, distinct from ordinary text-based web search, per Search Console's performance report help documentation.


Canonical: https://anythingengineoptimization.com/item/2026-09-24-search-console-now-separates-text-and-multimodal-web-search/
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