Gemini Appears to Have Stopped Adding UTM Parameters to Cited URLs
TLDR
Google appears to have stopped appending UTM parameters to the cited URLs in Gemini's AI responses, after it began adding them in early September.
Optimixed Overview
Optimixed's original report on this story.
SERoundtable reports that Google seems to have stopped attaching UTM parameters to the cited URLs in Gemini's AI responses. Google had started adding them to Gemini links in early September, but the change appears to have ended around September 28th.
How we got here
- Oct 14OpenAI stops adding UTM parameters to links in ChatGPT results
OpenAI has stopped attaching UTM parameters to links in ChatGPT results, starting with the GPT-6 release, making it harder for site owners to track which traffic came from the platform.
- Oct 3Google Adds Fact-Checking to AI Content Guidance as Gemini Links Display UTM Tags
Google is adding fact-checking expectations to its AI content guidance, Gemini links are exposing UTM parameters in search results, and desktop click-through rates declined in Q2.
- Oct 1Google Gemini adds UTM parameters for clearer traffic attribution
Google Gemini now attaches UTM parameters to referral links, enabling site owners to track traffic from the AI platform in their analytics systems.
- Sep 3Early testing shows Gemini 3.8 Flash in Google AI Mode less likely to cite and link to sources
Early users report that Google's new Gemini 3.8 Flash model in AI Mode cites and links to sources less frequently than previous versions.