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Sidestreet Signal — Issue 07
Visual search is measurable, Adobe is moving into AI assistants, and sensitive data needs clearer boundaries.͏ ͏ ͏
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September 2026 · Issue 07
Sidestreet Signal · Useful perspective for growing teams
The interface is
changing.
The process still matters.
Search can start with a camera. Creative work can start in a chat. AI tools can move data on your behalf. The tools are moving deeper into the flow of work—and the process around them matters more because of it.
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( 01 — What changed )
Three shifts worth your attention.
This week’s common thread isn’t another new AI feature. It’s what happens when those features stop living in separate tools and start showing up inside the work you already do.
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01
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Web & digital
Google is finally showing you when someone searches with an image.
Google added web multimodal search reporting to Search Console. Site owners can now see performance tied to searches that begin with an image—including Google Lens, Circle to Search, image uploads to Google Search and Chrome’s “Search this image” feature.
The reporting is rolling out globally through a new multimodal search filter inside the Search results and Generative AI performance reports.
The takeaway: If your business sells, builds, serves or displays something people might photograph, visual search is becoming a measurable discovery channel—not just an SEO theory.
See Google’s new Search Console reporting →
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02
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Creative & production
Adobe is moving the creative suite into the AI conversation.
Adobe brought Photoshop, Lightroom, Express and Firefly tools directly into Gemini this week. It also expanded its Claude integration to include Acrobat and more than 80 tools across products including Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Lightroom, InDesign and Adobe Stock.
The practical change is bigger than another integration. A marketer or creative can increasingly describe the outcome they need in a conversation and let the software orchestrate the individual steps.
The takeaway: Execution keeps getting easier. Your source files, brand rules and approval process become more valuable because they’re the things the tool still can’t invent for you.
See Adobe’s Gemini and Claude update →
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A useful rule as the interface disappears
Know the source.
Keep the path visible.
Set the boundary.
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One more note for church leaders
If you missed the AZLU preview last week...
I mentioned AZLU here last week because it’s still pre-launch and I wanted church leaders on this list to have an early look before we start talking about it more broadly.
AZLU is the church-focused work we’re building around strategy, story, technology and the practical systems that help a local church communicate clearly and reach people well.
If your website, outreach, communications, Sunday production or the systems behind all of it are on your plate, take a look around. And if something feels missing, I’d genuinely like to hear that while we’re still shaping it.
Take an early look at AZLU →
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What changed · continued
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03
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Technology & security
“Don’t paste that into AI” is becoming an enforceable security rule.
Microsoft’s September security updates include tools to discover and control local AI agents and new controls designed to stop sensitive information from reaching unsanctioned AI services.
Microsoft Purview and Entra Global Secure Access can now apply data policies at the network layer to both people and agentic traffic. If an employee or an AI agent tries to send a sensitive file or text to a risky destination, the system can block the transfer before the data leaves.
The takeaway: An AI policy shouldn’t stop at “use good judgment.” Decide which tools are approved, which data can go into them and where you can enforce those rules technically instead of relying on memory.
Read Microsoft’s September security update →
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( 03 — Put it to work )
Three things I’d check this week.
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01
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Check whether people are finding you visually.
Open Search Console and look for the new multimodal search filter. If data is showing up, note which pages and images are earning visibility—and whether they’re the pages you actually want people discovering.
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02
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Give your creative tools a source of truth.
Before adding another AI-assisted creative workflow, make sure your approved logos, fonts, colors, messaging, photography and final source files live somewhere the team can actually find them. Faster tools amplify messy inputs too.
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03
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Write down what should never leave the building.
Pick the categories that matter—client data, financial information, credentials, HR records, unreleased work or proprietary documents. Then make sure the team knows which AI tools are approved before any of that gets uploaded.
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Need a second set of
senior eyes?
Send us the thing you’re trying to improve—a campaign, website, creative workflow, technology problem or half-formed idea. We’ll tell you plainly whether we can help.
workwithus@hellosidestreet.com
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864-574-3811
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187 North Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306
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