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Google Cuts the Search Profile Threshold to 10,000 and Adds Multi-Account Support

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A theme-park height-requirement sign where 100,000 and 35,000 are both crossed out in red marker, with 10,000 scrawled beneath as the current figure. A cartoon mascot in Google's brand colours points at the new number, with a speech bubble reading 'You must have this many followers to join'.
Google cut the follower threshold three times in three months: 100,000, then 35,000, now 10,000. Illustration: AI-generated.

Google has announced three changes to Search profiles: a lower eligibility bar, multi-account management, and a bigger article display. Product manager Ibrahim Badr posted the update on the Google blog on 16 September 2026.

The eligibility change is the third cut since the feature launched in June 2026. The follower threshold across YouTube, Instagram, X and TikTok now stands at 10,000, down from 35,000 (itself down from a launch figure of 100,000 on three platforms and 300,000 on TikTok). Google’s help documentation carries the current figure.

The new capability is multi-account management: a single Google account can claim and manage up to 10 separate Search profiles, switching between them from a dropdown on the profile edit screen. Google frames this for “media organizations [that] manage the digital presence of many different publications”, who previously needed a separate login per sub-brand to claim a profile for each one. Google also enlarged article thumbnails and lengthened visible headlines on the profile’s article cards, aimed at making a publisher’s linked content easier to browse.

A Search profile switcher panel open over CNET's profile, listing three profiles under one Ziff Davis account: CNET, IGN and Mashable, each with a follower count and a Switch button.
Ziff Davis switching between its CNET, IGN and Mashable Search profiles from one account. Via: Google.

None of the three changes affects search ranking, which Google has stated since launch applies to the feature generally.

What this means for publishers with multiple brands

If you run more than one publication, channel, or brand identity, you no longer need a separate Google account for each one to claim its Search profile. Log in with the account you already use, and add each eligible sub-brand from the account-switcher dropdown.

The threshold cut matters more broadly: at 10,000 followers, most publishers and creators with an established niche audience now clear the bar. Check your own accounts against the current figure at Create a new Search profile, since it has moved four times in three months.

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