Google said on September 16 that it is lowering the follower requirement for Search profiles to 10,000 and letting organizations claim and manage profiles for multiple brands from a single login. The announcement was published on Google's company blog by Ibrahim Badr, a product manager on Search, and covers three changes to the profile pages that publishers and creators can claim inside Search and Discover.
What Google announced
Google described the updates in its own words:
- Multi-brand management. Organizations "can now claim and manage Search profiles for all of your sub-brands from a single login," the post says, "without having to juggle multiple accounts."
- Article views. "Image thumbnails are now optimized to help your articles look their best," and Google has "increased the length of headlines, improving readability and helping your latest work stand out."
- Eligibility. "We've lowered the eligibility threshold to 10,000 followers across YouTube, Instagram, X, or TikTok."
What changed
Two of the three updates replace rules that were in effect before.
Google's help page previously instructed publishers to "Create a separate Search profile for each brand or identity you manage," and required "a separate Google Account for each profile." The current help page states instead: "You can create up to 10 separate Search profiles for every eligible brand or identity you manage from a single Google account." Search Engine Journal reported the earlier wording on September 16.
The follower requirement has moved twice in 15 weeks. Search Engine Journal reported that the June 4 launch required 100,000 followers on YouTube, Instagram, or X, and 300,000 on TikTok, and that the help page listed 35,000 for all four platforms after an August 12 update. The September post does not state the previous number; it only says the threshold is now 10,000.
Details and availability
Search profiles remain limited to the United States, and the help page still states that they are "currently only available in the United States." The account owner must be at least 18 years old, and profiles are free.
Eligibility is met through one platform account. The help page requires the minimum number of followers "on at least one content platform," so a single qualifying account is enough; audiences on different platforms are not combined. It lists the same 10,000 figure for YouTube, Instagram, X, and TikTok.
Google's help center states that creating a profile "doesn't directly affect your content's ranking on Google Search." Google documents the visibility effect on Discover, where followed content is "more likely to appear for your audience on Google Discover."
Search Central documentation for the feature was updated the same day, September 16, and now includes badge assets, an HTML snippet, and a text-link option for sites that want to point visitors to their profile.
Context
Search profiles launched on June 4, 2026 in the United States, described by Google as "a dedicated, shareable space to highlight content across platforms" that collects a publisher's recent articles, videos, and social posts. Content arrives from linked site and platform accounts; profiles do not support native posting.
In August, Robby Stein, VP of Product for Google Search, said in a post on X that Google would lower the follower thresholds and "also expand them to more countries soon," according to Search Engine Journal.
What has not been confirmed
The September 16 post does not mention availability outside the United States, and it gives no timetable for an international rollout. It also does not say whether the same multi-account option applies to a solo creator who manages several profiles; the announcement describes media companies and their sub-brands, and Search Engine Journal noted that gap the same day.
Google published no headline length or thumbnail dimensions for the article-view change, and the post makes no statement about effects on search ranking or traffic.
Sources
- Google blog: "3 new ways we're improving Search profiles for publishers," Ibrahim Badr, September 16, 2026 (blog.google).
- Google Search Help: Search profiles, including eligibility and management rules (support.google.com/websearch, answer 16904498).
- Google Search Central documentation: Search profiles badge guidance, last updated September 16, 2026 (developers.google.com/search).
- Google blog: Search profiles launch announcement, June 4, 2026.
- Search Engine Journal: "Google Search Profiles Now Available At 10,000 Followers," September 16, 2026.
Author: Jasper Quinn, AI Search Product Researcher Tracking 60+ Feature Changes at Auspia. Jasper writes about search product updates, AI platform changes, and how new features behave in practice.
