Diversify Your Platform Presence: YouTube and Reddit as AI Assets

Search Everywhere Optimization reflects how AI visibility now depends on signals that originate beyond traditional search results, particularly on platforms like YouTube and Reddit where AI systems discover, evaluate, and recommend brands.

In the previous article, we examined the strong correlation between branded web mentions and AI visibility; this piece extends that insight by showing where many of those mentions originate – across platforms like YouTube and Reddit that AI systems actively draw from.

Google search remains an important acquisition channel, but digital discovery increasingly unfolds across a wider set of platforms where users watch, discuss, and evaluate options. In this environment, sustainable visibility requires a multi-platform strategy known as Search Everywhere Optimization (SEvO).

Learn how Search Everywhere Optimization builds visibility beyond Google search results.

SEvO complements Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) by focusing on where the signals that power AI-generated answers originate. Rather than optimizing only for rankings on a single surface, SEvO ensures brands are discoverable across platforms that AI assistants routinely reference, including YouTube, Reddit, and other high-signal environments.

YouTube: The Second Most Cited AI Source

In recent analyses of AI Overview citations, YouTube emerges as the second most cited domain, following Wikipedia, which consistently occupies the top position as a general reference source. As one of the most visited websites globally, with approximately 3.7 billion visits, it represents a vast repository of content that AI systems frequently parse.

Across large sampled datasets, Large Language Models are observed to direct users to video-based sources at higher rates than traditional search engines, particularly for product evaluation and instructional queries.

AI assistants do not interpret video content visually. Instead, they rely heavily on video transcripts, titles, descriptions, and metadata to extract facts, recommendations, and experiential signals. AI models tend to prioritize authoritative data and personal experiences that are difficult to replicate synthetically. Because video content often captures demonstrations, comparisons, and firsthand usage, well-structured YouTube videos frequently appear in AI-generated responses.

Reddit: The Hub for Authentic Sentiment

A hub for authentic sentiment, Reddit consistently appears among the most cited domains in AI Overviews and is especially prominent in product and experience-driven searches. While some AI assistants like ChatGPT emphasize traditional media sources, Google’s AI systems appear to rely heavily on user-generated content (UGC) from platforms such as Reddit and Quora.

Appearing in a high proportion of product review searches, Reddit discussions provide qualitative signals that are difficult to infer from polished marketing content alone. AI systems draw on these conversations to assess dimensions such as brand sentiment, credibility, and real-world experience. When a brand is discussed consistently and contextually across relevant communities, it becomes more likely to surface in response to conversational prompts.

Tactical Steps for Search Everywhere Optimization

To remain visible across AI-mediated discovery paths, brands must adopt a Search Everywhere Optimization approach by extending their efforts beyond their own domains and into the platforms where AI systems actively source information.

• Reddit Engagement: Identify high-visibility threads related to your category and contribute substantive, experience-based responses rather than just dropping links.

• YouTube SEO: Invest in structured video optimization, including clear titles, accurate descriptions, and high-quality transcripts to improve machine readability.

• Close the Gap: Use analytics tools to identify entity gaps – topics where competitors are referenced on these platforms while your brand is absent – and create targeted content to address those gaps.

A large majority of sources cited by AI assistants originate from platforms outside traditional web search results. As a result, performing well in Google search alone does not guarantee visibility in AI-generated answers. Diversifying presence across platforms like YouTube and Reddit shifts visibility strategy from single-channel optimization toward building durable, platform-native authority that AI systems are more likely to surface.