Google Gemini adds UTM parameters to outbound links

Image credit: Abondance

Google Gemini began appending UTM parameters to its outbound links in late September 2026, allowing webmasters to accurately measure artificial intelligence-driven traffic previously miscategorized in analytics.

The change, first observed on Reddit, addresses a significant blind spot for search engine optimization (SEO) professionals seeking to understand user engagement originating from AI assistants.

John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate, confirmed observing the UTMs, though he initially questioned their necessity, believing referrer information would suffice for attribution, according to reports.

However, Reddit user CrawlWarden reported that Gemini’s referrer data is transmitted in only about 9 percent of cases from the mobile application and is entirely suppressed during Android assistant invocations. This suppression often leads to AI-driven traffic being miscategorized as ‘direct’ in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), CrawlWarden stated.

UTM parameters offer a more reliable method for tracking traffic compared to referrers because they persist through in-app browsers, known as webviews, and are visible in server logs, improving the accuracy of traffic attribution, industry experts noted.

The addition of UTMs allows SEOs to isolate and analyze traffic specifically from Gemini, enabling direct comparisons with data from other AI platforms like ChatGPT or traditional search engine results. This enhanced data can help justify resources allocated to optimizing content for AI assistants, according to Search Engine Journal.

Google has not yet issued an official announcement or documentation regarding this change, leaving the specific conditions under which Gemini adds UTM parameters largely undisclosed.

The move provides measurement capabilities for webmasters and digital marketers, who have long struggled to differentiate AI assistant traffic from other sources, hindering their ability to optimize content and user experiences for this emerging channel.

Source: Abondance