How to Make Your Content Discoverable in Google's AI Search
In June 2025, Google released updated guidance to help brands improve visibility within its evolving AI-powered search ecosystem including AI Overviews, Gemini, and "AI Mode." In July, Google followed up with Deep Search, a new feature designed to return more nuanced answers to complex queries. Together, these updates mark a decisive shift in how content is surfaced and what it takes to be seen.
If you’re still optimizing for bounce rate or keyword density, you’re working off a dead playbook. That stuff matters in ads. Not here.
Welcome to GEO: Generative Engine Optimization.
Now, your visibility depends on whether your content answers something real. Whether it comes from someone credible. Whether it’s in a format AI can read and reuse.
This article focuses on the two platforms B2B brands should prioritize in this new search environment: YouTube and LinkedIn.
Why? Because they’re among the top 5 most-cited domains in Google’s AI Overviews (Semrush, 2025). And yet, most B2B companies are under-leveraging both.
Why Expert-Led, Niche Content Wins
LLMs don’t rank content. They synthesize it.
That means they look for:
Answers that directly match intent
People who know what they’re talking about
Content that’s clear, readable, and easy to parse
That’s why Reddit, Quora, YouTube, and LinkedIn now dominate AI summaries. They're human. Specific. Searchable in a way LLMs can work with.
Why Video Is Now Your Visibility Engine
By 2025, video makes up more than 80% of all global internet traffic. But more important is this:
LLMs embed YouTube videos directly into search.
They cite short-form clips from LinkedIn.
They rely on structured content with clear metadata and real voices.
If you’re still pushing white papers, you’re getting outranked by a screen recording.
What Makes Video So AI-Friendly?
AI doesn’t just skim your video’s title. It scans the structure beneath it.
Here’s what actually gets read:
Captions → Help reinforce context and improve language parsing
Transcripts → Support semantic clustering and topic alignment
Metadata → Titles, tags, chapters, schema markup all enhance crawlability
Format → Numbered lists, how-tos, FAQs = easy for AI to pull and cite
Delivery → Voice, tone, and presence reinforce authenticity and trust
If your video shows a real person answering a real question, it’s more likely to be cited.
And that’s where YouTube and LinkedIn come in.
LinkedIn and YouTube: Your New Top-of-Funnel Channels
Both platforms rank among the most cited in Google’s AI ecosystem but each plays a different role.
Youtube:
When people want to understand how something works, they often turn to YouTube. Increasingly, so does Google’s AI.
What makes YouTube especially effective for discovery is its structured format. Titles, captions, chapters, transcripts, and metadata like schema markup all work together to help large language models (LLMs) parse content at scale.
YouTube also excels at supporting long-tail, high-intent search behavior. Popular formats that align with B2B discovery include:
How-to explainers
Workflow walkthroughs
“Versus” comparisons
Behind-the-scenes demos
These aren’t just popular content types, they reflect exactly the kind of intent LLMs are trained to resolve. That’s why we’re seeing more YouTube clips embedded directly into AI-generated answers.
And while polished production can help, what gets surfaced most consistently tends to be:
Screen recordings of real workflows
Short explainers that stay focused on one question
Timestamped demos that make content easier to parse
Use case videos showing your product in action
A well-structured, useful video even one under two minutes can earn visibility long before a gated PDF ever does.
LinkedIn is now the third-most cited source in AI Overviews. Higher than The New York Times.
Not because of company pages. Because of people
But most brands use it wrong. Company pages push generic updates. Timelines are full of lifeless text. Meanwhile, what AI Overviews actually favor are:
Named experts posting from personal accounts
Short videos with a clear topical focus
Posts that answer a real question not just promote something
But most brands still miss the mark. Company pages often default to promotional updates or generic thought leadership. Meanwhile, what AI actually cites looks very different.
What surfaces in AI Overviews tends to come from:
Named individuals posting from personal accounts
Short videos that address a specific, topical question
Posts that inform, not just promote
In today’s hyper-personalized search landscape, content is judged by how uniquely helpful it is not how polished or branded. That’s why most company pages don’t get cited. Unless you’re publishing original data like McKinsey or Semrush, AI skips the brand voice and looks for real people saying something specific.
How to Generate Credible Signals (Without a Research Team):
Run a quick LinkedIn poll → turn the results into a short explainer video
Look at comments, replies, and DMs → pull the most common questions into a “What we’re seeing” video
Check support tickets or CRM notes → record a “3 questions we always get” breakdown
Use AnswerThePublic or SparkToro → find the actual phrasing people use and answer it directly, on cameraEven email replies or form fills can spark content that shows you’re close to the customer
Make it fast. Make it specific. Let someone speak on camera. Post it from personal accounts, not company.
To summarise Smart Video Strategy in 5 steps:
Collect Real Signals
Source your topics from places that reflect actual buyer pain.
Reddit. Slack. Support tickets. CRM logs.
Run polls. Read replies. Track the phrases people use.
2. Build Video Content That Can Be Parsed
Focus on one idea per video.
Use clear titles and add captions, transcripts, and schema.
Speak plainly. Stay under 90 seconds.
3. Publish on the Right Platforms
Match format to surface:
YouTube: Evergreen demos, walkthroughs, and how-tos.
LinkedIn: Personal profiles only. Short clips that answer real questions.
Reddit or Quora: Drop in clips or summaries to fuel engagement and capture more signals.
4. Track What AI Highlights
Use tools to measure AI-specific visibility:
Semrush AI Overview Tracker or Authoritas SGE Monitor track when content is cited in AI answers.
GA4: Look for unexpected spikes in traffic especially from Google without click referrals.
Mention or Talkwalker: Monitor any brand mentions triggered by AI summaries.
5. Double Down on What Works
Double down on the formats that earned visibility.
Spin top-performing clips into LinkedIn carousels, blogs, or newsletter segments.
Use a consistent structure: Poll breakdowns. FAQ rebuttals. Tool walkthroughs.
This is how one hit becomes a system.
Final Takeaway
AI search is user-specific, behavior-driven, and constantly evolving. If your content doesn’t directly solve a real need, it won’t get surfaced.
To win in LLM-driven discovery:
- Listen to what users are asking
- Create answers in the formats AI favors
- Structure content for fast machine parsing
- Elevate credible human voices
Relevance is the new requirement. Everything else is secondary.
