Google's New Search Console Reports for AI and Images (Plus the Favicon Fix)

Google dropped its quarterly news, and buried in a 7-minute video is a bug in a lot of websites: SVG favicons don't show in Google Search. If your little tab icon is SVG-only, Google is showing a sad gray globe instead of your logo.

That's the fun one. The useful ones are the new Search Console reports.

Here's the whole thing in 6 steps.

Quick words (one line each):

• Favicon: the tiny icon next to your site name in tabs and search results.

• SVG / PNG / ICO: image file types. SVG is code-drawn, PNG is a normal picture, ICO is the classic favicon format.

• Search Console: Google's free dashboard for how your site does in search.

• Multimodal search: searching with a picture or camera instead of typed words (Lens, Circle to Search).

• Merchant Center: Google's dashboard for stores that list products in Google Shopping.

Step 1: Fix your favicon (5 minutes, tops)

John Mueller says it plainly: SVG favicons are not supported in Google Search. If SVG is your only favicon, Google isn't showing it in Search or Discover. Add a PNG or ICO version (0:03:01, Oct 26, 2026).

1. Open your site's code or theme settings and find the favicon.

2. If it ends in .svg and there's nothing else, export your icon as a PNG at 48x48 or bigger and an ICO.

3. Add both. Keep the SVG if you like it for browsers.

Easiest SEO win of the year. You're welcome. Go ahead, say it out loud: "I fixed the gray globe."

Step 2: Open the AI features report

The generative AI features report in Search Console is now rolled out to all sites, for Search and Discover, per Google's Oct 26, 2026 news video (0:01:01-0:01:31). An earlier Exposure Ninja video said the report first launched on June 3, 2026. Open it and see how your pages show up in Google's AI features. Check it monthly. It's free data straight from the source.

Step 3: Open the new image search report

Google added reports on how people find you through Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads and Chrome's "Search this image." Mueller says this data was never counted in Search Console before (0:01:31).

Sell anything people photograph (shoes, cars, furniture, food)? This report shows the visual searches that bring them to you.

Step 4: Add your social profiles

Platform properties are live for everyone: add your Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube profiles to Search Console and see how that content does in Search (0:00:32). Mueller also says creators belong in an AI search plan, and points to a Jen Cornwell piece arguing that people look for human voices (0:04:01-0:04:32). Your social accounts are search assets now. Track them like it.

Step 5: Compare countries and devices in one go

Search Console filters now take multiple countries and devices at once (0:02:01). Serve two countries, or want phone vs. desktop side by side? One click instead of five.

Step 6: Stores, check Merchant Center's AI reports

Merchant Center now has AI Performance Insights reports (0:04:32-0:05:00). Amit Tiwari's testing shows why stores should care: on shopping searches, the AI Overview often sits below the product carousel, so he says to fix Merchant Center and product schema first (0:02:30-0:03:01, Oct 26, 2026).

Also in the news (one line each)

• Spam updates and a core update rolled out (0:02:01-0:02:31).

• Google Trends has maps; Site Kit for WordPress can set up conversion tracking for you (0:04:32-0:05:00).

• A new preferred sources button launched, with a first metrics report for sites in the program (0:05:00-0:06:01).

Do this today

1. Check your favicon. SVG only? Add a 48x48+ PNG and an ICO.

2. Open Search Console's generative AI features report.

3. Open the new Lens / image search report.

4. Add your YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and X profiles as platform properties.

5. Run a store? Open Merchant Center's AI Performance Insights.

Sources

• Google Search Central (John Mueller) ? Google Search news with platform properties, multimodal Search & AI Features (Q4 '26) (2026-10-26)

• Amit Tiwari (aFactor) ? Inside Google AI Overviews: Who Gets Featured-and Why? (2026-10-26)

Don't worry if this seems like it's a pain in the ass for someone who doesn't build websites. That's because it is. The good news: just click the link below, pull the trigger, and we'll take care of the rest.