# Gemini quietly adds UTM parameters to outgoing links

Published: 2026-10-01T12:18:05.083Z · Source: Search Engine Journal (https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-gemini-adds-utm-parameters-for-referral-attribution/591754/)
Source date: 2026-10-01
Flags: single-source — confirmation pending
Entities: gemini, google, reddit

Gemini has begun appending UTM parameters to the links it sends users to, a change first spotted on Reddit and confirmed by Google's John Mueller, who said he saw it too, per Search Engine Journal. The tags let site owners separate Gemini referral traffic from the "direct" bucket it previously fell into in tools like GA4 — though the referrer mostly survives only on desktop web, with roughly 9% pass-through from Gemini's mobile app. Google has not documented when the tagging triggers; by comparison, ChatGPT adds UTM parameters only to answers grounded in live web results, not ones drawn from training data.

Why it matters: Attribution has been a blind spot for AI-engine traffic, so a working UTM tag on Gemini links gives site owners their first clear read on how much "direct" traffic was actually Gemini all along.

## What this answers

**Does Gemini traffic show up as direct traffic in Google Analytics?**

It has — Gemini referrals previously landed in the "direct" bucket in tools like GA4, but Google has quietly begun tagging outgoing links with UTM parameters that let site owners attribute that traffic to Gemini, per Search Engine Journal.

**Does Gemini's UTM tagging work on mobile?**

Mostly not yet — the referrer mostly survives only on desktop web, with roughly 9% pass-through from Gemini's mobile app, per Search Engine Journal.


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