Gemini SEO: How to Get Your Brand Recommended in Google's AI Search

TLDR: Google AI Overviews now runs on Gemini. Ranking in Gemini largely comes down to strong SEO since it pulls from Google's index. One thing to watch: YouTube citations are rising fast.

If you're optimizing for ChatGPT but ignoring Google's AI search, you're missing one of the largest AI platforms in the world. As of late January 2026, Gemini 3 powers Google AI Overviews, and understanding how it works is essential for generative engine optimization (GEO).

How Gemini decides what to recommend

The key difference from ChatGPT is that Gemini is deeply integrated with Google's search index. If Google already trusts your site, Gemini is more likely to cite you. This makes your traditional SEO foundation more valuable here than on other AI platforms.

Google's search index: Pages that rank well in traditional search have a higher chance of being cited by Gemini. Your existing SEO work directly fuels your AI visibility on Google's platform.

Real-time search: Unlike ChatGPT's training data approach, Gemini pulls fresh information from the web. Your recent content can appear in AI responses almost immediately.

Authority signals: Gemini trusts what Google trusts. Backlinks, domain authority, and established topical expertise all influence whether Gemini cites your content.

The YouTube factor

Here's something we've noticed in our SearchSeal data: YouTube citations in AI responses are increasing significantly. Gemini favors YouTube content more heavily than other AI platforms, which makes sense given Google owns YouTube.

This creates an opportunity most brands are ignoring:

• Existing YouTube content: Make sure videos are optimized with clear titles, descriptions, and transcripts. Gemini can understand and cite video content.
• New content strategy: Consider creating video versions of your best written content. A guide that exists as both a blog post and a YouTube video has two chances to get cited.
• YouTube SEO basics: Keyword-rich titles, detailed descriptions, and timestamps help Gemini understand your video content.

How to optimize for Gemini

Since Gemini leans on Google's index, start with traditional SEO and layer AI-specific tactics on top.

Strengthen your SEO foundation: Everything that helps you rank in Google search helps you get cited by Gemini. Technical SEO, quality backlinks, and content that matches search intent all matter.

Structure content for extraction: Gemini needs to pull specific information from your content. Make this easy by structuring your content for AI citation: lead with direct answers, use clear headings, and include specific data points.

Target conversational queries: People ask Gemini questions like "what's the best way to..." rather than typing keyword fragments. Create content that addresses these natural language queries directly.

Keep content fresh: Gemini's real-time search means fresh content can appear in responses quickly. Regular updates signal that your site is active and current.

Don't ignore YouTube: Given the increasing YouTube citations we're seeing, video content deserves attention. Even simple videos covering topics your written content already addresses can expand your citation footprint.

How Gemini differs from ChatGPT

While the optimization fundamentals overlap, a few differences matter:

• Index dependency: Gemini relies more heavily on Google's search index, making traditional SEO more directly valuable. ChatGPT uses Bing for web search.
• Real-time by default: Fresh content surfaces faster in Gemini than in ChatGPT.
• YouTube preference: Gemini cites YouTube content more frequently, likely due to Google's ownership of the platform.

You can't assume what works for ChatGPT will work equally well for Gemini. Tracking visibility across both platforms shows you where your strategy is working and where it needs adjustment.

Tracking your Gemini visibility

Manually testing how your brand appears in Gemini doesn't scale. You can't check hundreds of queries daily or track changes over time.

SearchSeal monitors your brand across Gemini alongside ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. The right tracking tool turns guesswork into data, and given the differences between platforms, tracking Gemini specifically is essential.

A brand that dominates ChatGPT might be invisible in Gemini. You won't know until you check.