Digital marketing news, October 2026: Search Console AI and multimodal data, AI Max, Demand Gen and GA4 updates

How this round-up was compiled

Every item below links to an official Google announcement or help page. Dates are the dates Google published. Status labels distinguish general rollouts from betas and announced-but-not-yet-available features. Information was checked on 15 October 2026.

Google Search and Search Console

Generative AI performance report now available to all sites

• What changed: Search Console shows impressions from Google Search generative AI features - AI Overviews and AI Mode - by page, device and country. Introduced 3 June 2026; Google's help page says it was rolled out to all websites worldwide as of 31 August 2026.
• Status: generally available. Search Labs experiments are not included.
• What to do: compare AI impressions with organic clicks for your main pages, and use it alongside the advice in SEO in the AI search era.

Web multimodal search reporting

• What changed: announced 24 September 2026, a new multimodal search type filter in Search Console's performance reports shows visits from image-based searches - Lens, Circle to Search on Android, image uploads to Search, and Chrome's 'Search this image'.
• Status: rolling out globally from 24 September; data appears only if your site receives such traffic.
• What to do: eCommerce, fashion, furniture and design sites should check which product and category pages appear, and review image quality, alt text and product structured data.

Google Ads

AI Max: AI Brief in more languages and new reporting

• What changed: on 23 September 2026 Google expanded the closed beta of AI Brief - which lets advertisers describe their business, audience and messaging to guide AI Max - to Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.
• Also announced: a unified report showing the search terms that triggered ads, the assets shown and the landing page reached.
• Status: AI Brief is a closed beta; the reporting feature is announced with details and availability due later in 2026.
• What to do: if you use AI Max, plan to review search term, asset and landing page combinations once reporting arrives. Guidance on feeding automation good data is in Google Ads in 2026.

Demand Gen: September 2026 Drop

• What changed: on 24 September 2026 Google published its September Demand Gen Drop, a batch of updates to Demand Gen campaigns across YouTube and Google's visual surfaces.
• Status: features vary in availability by market and account; check the announcement for each item.
• What to do: brands using YouTube and Discover for prospecting should review the new options when planning budget splits - see Meta Ads vs Google Ads budget allocation.

Measurement suite updates

• What changed: on 10 September 2026 Google announced updates to the measurement suite in Google Ads, focused on data strength.
• What to do: review the account's measurement diagnostics and enhanced conversions status.

Google Analytics 4

App conversions in cross-channel reports - 29 September 2026

• What changed: GA4 now supports app conversions in conversion reports, including performance, attribution analysis and attribution models, for Google Ads customers.
• Who is affected: businesses with both web and app properties advertising on Google Ads.
• Status: release listed in GA4's 'What's new' page.

User Groups Admin API - October 2026

• What changed: a new Admin API lets organisations create and manage user groups and their access to GA4 accounts and properties programmatically. Requires User Admin or Org Admin permission.
• Who is affected: agencies and larger teams managing many properties.

Customisable dashboards - 9 September 2026

• What changed: GA4's release notes list a 9 September 2026 release; industry coverage describes it as customisable dashboards for monitoring chosen metrics in one place.
• What to do: confirm availability in your property before rebuilding reports. Our GA4 conversion tracking guide covers the data these dashboards depend on.

What to prioritise this month

1. Open the Generative AI performance report and note which pages gain AI impressions.
2. Check the new multimodal filter if you sell visual products.
3. Audit conversion tracking and enhanced conversions before Q4 peak season.
4. Review Demand Gen and AI Max settings with clean, current conversion goals.

This round-up will be reviewed if any of these features change status.