YouTube Is Replacing Reddit in ChatGPT and Google ai Answers (And Most Businesses Are Still Publishing Backwards)
- Pretty-Impressive
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Direct answer: If you want to show up in AI answers, treat YouTube as a citeable asset, not “brand content.” Recent datasets show YouTube now appears as a cited source more often than Reddit in many LLM answers, and Google’s AI Overviews also lean heavily toward YouTube. Pair YouTube with SEO pages and Google Ads to convert demand.
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Table of Contents
Key Takeaways
You do not need more content. You need better placement.
AI answers reduce clicks. AI Overviews correlate with lower outbound clicking.
YouTube citations are rising. One dataset showed YouTube cited in 16% of LLM answers vs 10% for Reddit.
Google AI Overviews lean YouTube. Tracking shows YouTube appearing more than Reddit in coverage and overlap.
Your move:
Publish video that answers buyer questions, then anchor it with an on-site page and capture demand with Google Ads.
What changed in 2024–2026, and why clicks dropped
AI Overviews rolled out broadly in the U.S. in May 2024. Then they expanded globally fast. Google also made links inside Overviews more prominent over time.
Now the ugly part. People often do not click when an AI summary shows. A study from Pew Research Center found clicks to traditional results were lower when AI summaries appeared, and clicks on the cited links were rare.
People ask: “Is SEO dead?”
Answer: No. But page one is now a blended product. You are optimizing for: rankings, citations, and brand recall.
Why AI is citing YouTube more than Reddit in ChatGPT
Here is the measurable reality. BrightEdge tracked citations across AI search experiences and found YouTube dominance at scale. They reported YouTube’s citation share across platforms and a large lead over other video sites.
Two numbers matter for strategy:
YouTube averages a large citation share across AI platforms.
Google AI Overviews cite YouTube at very high rates in that dataset.
So why does this happen?
Some of it is trust and indexing depth. Some is format. Video often answers “how” questions faster. And YouTube content is easy to quote when it has clean titles, chapters, and transcripts.
Check out our Google Search Central SEO Starter Guide
The “YouTube + SEO + Google Ads” conversion stack
Step 1: Build “answer assets,” not content
Most businesses publish fluff. AI does not reward fluff. Build pages and videos that answer one clear question. Then expand. Use prompts that match real user phrasing, including modifiers like “best” and local intent.
Examples:
“How much does [service] cost in [city]?”
“Best way to fix [problem] without damage?”
“Do I need a permit for [job] in [county]?”
Step 2: Publish the YouTube video like a machine-readable document
Do this every time:
Title that matches the query.
First 20 seconds answers directly.
Chapters with plain language labels.
On-screen labels that match the chapters.
Description includes a tight bullet summary.
This matters because AI systems need structure. Google also describes that AI features surface links and use multi-search techniques to build responses.
If you instead want to focus on paid side for lead generation, see Paid Search & PPC Mechanics
Step 3: Mirror the same answer on your site
Do not rely on YouTube alone. Put the same answer on a page you own.
40–60 word answer capsule at the top.
Then a short list.
Then examples, proof, and constraints.
Step 4: Tie the page to credibility signals
You want the page to look “citation safe.” Add:
Named author and role.
“Last updated” date.
A short “how we know” paragraph.
2–4 credible outbound references.
“The last thing IBM needs right now is a vision.” — Louis V. Gerstner Jr.
Translation: stop chasing shiny narratives. Win with execution. You should focus right now on shipping one citation-ready page per week, for 12 weeks.
On-page structure that AI can quote cleanly
Use headings that match how people ask
Bad H2: “Our approach”Good H2: “How do you get cited in AI Overviews?”Then answer in the first two sentences.
Use lists that can be copied safely
AI loves clean lists. So do humans.
5–7 bullets is enough.
Avoid huge paragraphs.
Add constraints and edge cases.
Put definitions in plain English
AEO: getting your answers reused in AI responses.
GEO: getting your brand and page used inside generative results.
Build “proof blocks”
Add one per page:
A mini case study.
A before/after metric.
A named process you follow.
A quote from a real client.
And yes, classic SEO still matters here. Google explicitly says there are no special requirements to appear in AI features beyond foundational SEO and being eligible for snippets.
GEO tactics that make AI mention your city and service
Write for “near me” without sounding spammy
AI tends to prefer specific, grounded local details. Therefore use a real service area sentence:
“We serve [City], plus [Suburb], [Suburb], and [County].”
Then add one local constraint: parking, permits, weather, building style.
Create a location-proof paragraph
Add:
Your address or service radius.
Your license type and state.
Your typical response time window.
A local phone number format.
Map your services to local intent pages
One page per core service. One page per high-value city. Do not mix 14 topics on one page. That kills citations.
Why Google Ads still matters, even more now than ever as Youtube is cited more than Reddit in ChatGPT
Organic is getting squeezed at the top. That is the reality. Alphabet is still running ads, clearly labeled, alongside these AI experiences.
Also, your pipeline cannot wait for citations. Mirrors real executive-level objections by using Google Ads to:
Capture “ready-to-buy” searches today.
Feed first-party conversion data.
Test messaging that becomes future content.
People ask: “Should we cut spend and ‘wait out AI’?”
Answer: That is how you get erased. Keep demand capture. Build demand creation.
30-day execution playbook to rank on ChatGPT search
Week 1: Pick targets and build the first asset
Choose 10 customer questions you already answer.
Pick 3 with local intent and high margin.
Publish 1 YouTube video + 1 matching page.
Week 2: Add structure and credibility
Add FAQ section in plain text.
Add author, update date, and references.
Add schema (Article + FAQPage).
Week 3: Measure citations and fix the page
Search your target prompts.
Check whether you appear as a cited source.
Week 4: Scale to one asset per week
Repeat for the next question.
Keep the format consistent.
Build a small internal library over time.
If you want this built fast, Pretty-Impressive can run the full system:
YouTube-backed content,
AEO/GEO structure, schema
Google Ads that protects revenue while organic resets
If you want this built fast, Pretty-Impressive can run the full system:
YouTube-backed content,
AEO/GEO structure, schema
Google Ads that protects revenue while organic resets
We’ve worked with everyone from Midas, CP Chem, and BBVA Compass Bank to local food trucks, ecommerce brands, and VC-backed companies, including helping grow two unicorns from the ground up.
ChatGPT Ads Management <>
Summary
AI answers are changing what “visibility” even means. YouTube is being cited more often than Reddit in many generative responses, and Google AI Overviews are leaning heavily on video sources.
That does not kill SEO. It forces a shift.
Your best move is building citeable answers in two places at once: a structured YouTube video and a matching on-site page that AI can quote, humans can trust, and buyers can convert from.
The businesses that win will not publish more. They will publish sharper. One question per asset. Real proof. Clean schema. Local signals that sound human. Then they keep Google Ads running to capture demand while the organic landscape resets.
If you want a system that earns citations and turns them into calls, build the YouTube-backed AEO stack now, before your competitors do.
Next step: If you want us to audit what’s broken and give you a fix plan, start here: Schedule a Free Consultation
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is YouTube really cited more than Reddit now?
A: Multiple reports show YouTube citations surpassing Reddit in recent LLM-answer datasets, and separate tracking shows YouTube leading Reddit in Google AI Overview coverage.
Q: Will AI Overviews reduce my website traffic?
A: They can. Pew-linked analysis found lower click rates when AI summaries appear, including rare clicks on cited links.
Q: Should I stop writing blogs and only do video?
A: No. Video earns citations. Blogs close the sale and build owned authority.
Q: What should I publish first?
A: One “cost” topic, one “vs” topic, and one “how-to fix” topic.
Q: How does GEO fit if I’m local?
A: Add service areas, local case studies, and location-specific FAQs.
Q: Where do ChatGPT ads fit?
A: Treat them as an emerging channel. Build the content footprint now, so you have assets ready to sponsor later.
Need Help Building a Content Strategy for Your Digital Marketing? Pretty-Impressive Can Help
Whether your current digital content strategy isn’t working, or you simply don’t know where to begin, it may be time to call in the pros.
The marketing experts at Pretty-Impressive can help you …
Increase your organic traffic
Build brand awareness; and
Convert leads into sales
… by developing a unique digital content marketing strategy focused on running multi-channel marketing campaigns with data-driven results. We won’t just find you more customers — we’ll help you keep them.
Sources
Related resources from Pretty-Impressive.com
ChatGPT Ads, AEO + GEO strategies <>
How to show up in ChatGPT answers and Google AI results?
Pretty-Impressive builds YouTube-first AEO systems that convert. We’ve worked with everyone from Midas, CP Chem, and BBVA Compass Bank to local food trucks, ecommerce brands, and VC-backed companies, including helping grow two unicorns from the ground up.
We map the questions buyers actually ask, produce citeable video, publish the matching SEO pages, then run Google Ads to capture demand. If YouTube is getting cited more than Reddit, your strategy should reflect that.