Gemini stopped adding utm_source to cited links in late September, and its iPhone app sends no referrer, so those visits show as Direct.
Treat AI search numbers in GA4 as a floor, not the full picture, and add Direct traffic checks to your report.
Search Engine Roundtable reports that Gemini stopped adding utm_source=gemini to cited links around 28 September, after adding it from early September. The tracking comes from SEO Natzir.
Desktop Gemini still passes a gemini.google.com referrer. The iOS app opens links in its own window with no referrer, so those visits land in Direct in GA4.
So any AI search channel you've built in GA4 now undercounts Gemini. Not by a known amount, but enough that you shouldn't make budget calls on it alone.
Rather we did it for you? See how we run traffic for Shopify brands.
Check what your Meta business account lets Meta use, and keep your own site and email list as the main route to customers.
Decide separately whether you want to stop AI training and whether you still want to appear in Gemini answers.
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