Search Console adds brand filters

Summary

Google Search Console now has built-in AI-powered brand filters that classify branded vs non-branded queries automatically, including misspellings, abbreviations, and product names. The feature replaces manual regex-based brand filtering but has notable gaps - it misses some branded items and may include competitor names.

Key Insight

• The filter uses AI classification, so it catches variations you’d miss with regex: one-word/two-word forms, hyphenated versions, abbreviations, misspellings, product names, and even founder names.
• Key gaps: it missed a founder’s book title and included competitor names and client case studies as “branded” - so don’t trust it blindly.
• Data availability starts from 21 February 2026 onward only.
• Actionable diagnostic: if your branded term average position isn’t #1 or CTR is below 50%, competitors are likely bidding on your brand or ranking “Alternative to [You]” content.
• You can now annotate marketing campaigns directly on Performance charts (right-click) to correlate branded search lifts with campaign timing - useful for attribution when direct tracking is unclear.
• Regional brand comparison is now trivial: filter by branded queries + add country filter, or compare two countries side by side.