Your Next Customer Might Not Type a Single Word Into Google. Is Your Business Ready?
Kirsten Johnson, Founder of Reverie
Google just gave businesses new ways to see how customers discover them. And some of the most interesting searches aren't happening the way you'd expect.
Think about the last time you needed to find a business.
You probably opened Google, typed a few words, and looked through the results.
But imagine a potential customer taking a completely different approach.
They see a beautiful kitchen and use Google Lens to search for similar designs.
They watch a video about repairing a problem in their home, then search for the company behind it.
They ask Google AI Mode to help them compare local service providers.
They find a business through an Instagram post that appeared in Google Search.
All four customers are looking for something. But not all of them are typing traditional searches or discovering businesses through the same results.
And here's the interesting part: Google has introduced new reporting that can help businesses understand more of these interactions.
For small-business owners, that is worth paying attention to.
1. Someone Can Now Search With a Photo Instead of Words
Picture this.
A homeowner notices an unusual problem with their landscaping. Instead of trying to describe it, they take a photo and search using Google Lens.
Or someone sees a design they love and searches with an image to find something similar.
That is visual search, and it creates an entirely different way for customers to discover information, products, services, and businesses.
Google's September 2026 update expanded Search Console reporting for multimodal searches, including experiences such as Google Lens and Circle to Search.
Why should your business care?
Because the images connected to your business can do more than make your website attractive.
For the right industry, original photos can help customers understand what you offer and provide useful visual information for search systems.
Think about businesses that have:
Before-and-after project photography
Product images
Interior design or construction portfolios
Landscaping and home improvement photos
Demonstrations of their work
Educational videos explaining common problems
A real project photo with meaningful context may be more useful to a prospective customer than another generic stock image.
What to do: Take a look at the photos on your website. Do they clearly represent your services and expertise? Are they connected to useful explanations of the actual work?
You don't need to become a photographer. But it may be time to pay closer attention to the images your business is publishing.
2. Google Is Giving Businesses More Information About AI Search
You've probably seen Google AI Overviews, where Google provides an AI-generated response near the top of a search results page.
Maybe you've experimented with AI Mode, too.
For business owners, the question has been fairly obvious:
Is our company showing up in any of this?
Google has now introduced dedicated generative AI performance reporting in Search Console.
That means eligible website owners can examine information about how their content appears in Google's AI-powered search experiences, including AI Overviews, AI Mode, and generative AI features in Discover.
That's an interesting development because it provides more evidence about a part of search that has been difficult to measure.
Here's what I would want to know
If your business appears in AI-generated results, which pages are getting attention?
Is it your homepage?
A service page?
An educational article?
A comparison that answers something customers frequently ask?
Those details can help inform your content strategy.
But remember, appearing in a search result isn't the same thing as acquiring a customer.
What to do: Ask your marketing team whether your website has Google Search Console set up correctly and whether the newer AI performance reporting is available for your business.
If it is, take a look at what the information tells you before deciding whether anything needs to change.
3. That Video You Posted Months Ago Could Be Reaching Customers Through Google
Here's another update small businesses should know about.
Google Search Console now supports reporting for content from platforms including Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube.
Imagine you own a local plumbing company and published a short video explaining how to recognize a leaking water heater.
You might assume that video's only opportunity to reach customers is through the social platform where you originally posted it.
But public social and video content can also appear in Google Search.
Google's expanded reporting can provide information about that search visibility.
For a business investing time and money into videos, photography, or educational content, that information is valuable.
You may find that certain topics attract search attention long after the original content was published.
You may discover that an educational video is reaching people who have never followed your social account.
Or you may learn that Google isn't surfacing much of your existing content.
Those are useful observations when you're deciding what to create next.
What to do: Before spending more money producing content, review what you've already published. Look for subjects that address real customer questions and explore whether that content could be better used on your website or in other relevant channels.
Sometimes your next content opportunity is sitting in something you've already created.
4. Google Released Another Reminder About What Makes Websites Work
While the newer AI and visual search developments are interesting, Google also made a quieter announcement on October 6, 2026.
It released new educational resources covering Search fundamentals and technical SEO.
The topics include crawling, indexing, website structure, and measuring performance.
These may not sound exciting, but they influence whether search engines can discover and understand your website.
Here's a simple example.
Imagine you've invested in professional photography, educational content, service pages, and an attractive website.
But important pages aren't being indexed, your navigation makes services difficult to find, or your website has technical problems.
You could be putting money into valuable content without giving it a strong opportunity to appear in search.
That doesn't mean every business needs a complete website rebuild.
It means your existing website deserves to be maintained and evaluated before you keep adding more to it.
What to do: Ask when your website was last reviewed for technical SEO issues, indexing problems, and important pages that may be difficult for Google to discover.
A routine review may uncover improvements that deserve attention before another major marketing investment.
What Should Small Businesses Actually Do With These Updates?
Here's where I'd focus.
Not every business needs to prioritize visual search.
Not every business needs a large video strategy.
And appearing in an AI Overview doesn't automatically justify an increased SEO budget.
The opportunity is to understand which developments matter for your specific business.
Start with these three questions.
1. Are we taking advantage of the content and assets we already have?
Look at your website, project photos, videos, service pages, and educational articles.
Identify what is already useful and whether customers can easily find it.
2. Are we seeing the full picture of our Google visibility?
Make sure someone is reviewing your Search Console information, including the newer reporting capabilities when applicable.
Some businesses may be surprised by where their online content is being discovered.
3. Are we making decisions based on useful information?
New search reporting is exciting, but it should eventually help answer practical questions.
Are we reaching the right audience?
Are people contacting the business?
Which services are generating interest?
What deserves our time and marketing budget next?
New information is only valuable if we use it to make better decisions.
Your Business May Already Have More Opportunities Than You Realize
The most encouraging part of these developments is that small businesses don't necessarily need to start from scratch.
You may already have a library of useful photos.
You may have videos answering common customer questions.
Your website might contain information that could be valuable in AI search.
You may have service pages that simply need some technical or content improvements.
The challenge is understanding what you already have, how customers are discovering it, and where there is a genuine opportunity to improve.
That's the work worth doing.
Curious What Google Can Actually See About Your Business?
At Reverie Creative Agency, we help small businesses make sense of their online presence, from websites and SEO to Google Search Console, content, local visibility, and emerging AI search opportunities.
If you aren't sure whether your business is taking advantage of these newer reporting capabilities, we can help review your existing setup and identify what deserves attention.
You don't have to keep up with every Google announcement.
But you should have someone paying attention to the ones that could matter for your business.
Reverie is an Arizona website design, SEO, and Google Ads agency helping small businesses grow online in Gilbert, Queen Creek, Mesa, Chandler, and the East Valley.