Google added a multimodal search type filter to Search Console's performance reports, including the report for generative AI features. It covers searches with Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Google Search and Chrome's right-click "Search this image". Google started rolling it out globally on 24 September.
This matters most for brands people can spot in the wild: fashion, beauty, homeware. Someone sees your product on a friend, points their phone at it and searches. That's a shopper with intent, and until now you couldn't see them in your data.
Now you can measure it, so you can work on it. Real-life product shots, clear images from several angles and descriptive alt text all help Google match a photo to your page. It's the joined-up story again: the product people see out in the world should lead straight back to your site.