How AI assistants pick gambling brands and what Google says to do
Studies of AI answers show a few large brands taking most mentions and almost no links. Google's own guidance says no special files or markup are needed.
Key takeaways
- In one study of 78 iGaming brands, the top 10 took nearly 58% of AI mentions and about half the brands barely appeared.
- Fewer than 2% of brand mentions in that study included a link, so the gain is being named, not being clicked.
- Google says its AI features need no llms.txt file, no special schema and no rewriting of content for AI.
- Google's advice is the same as for ordinary search: original, first-hand content on pages that can be crawled and indexed.
The short answer
AI assistants name a small set of established gambling brands and rarely link to anyone. Google's official guidance says appearing in its AI features needs nothing beyond normal search optimisation: indexable pages with original, useful content. Special AI files and markup are not required.
What this article covers
- What the visibility studies found
- Where the citations come from
- What Google says site owners need
- What this means for a smaller brand or affiliate
- The evidence side by side
- Limits of this evidence
- Key takeaways
What the visibility studies found
Toucan International's iGaming AI Search Visibility Report, covered by iGaming Capital in February 2026, tested 78 iGaming brands on 50 common queries across five AI platforms: ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and Claude.
- The top 10 brands held nearly 58% of total share of voice.
- Nearly half the brands appeared once or not at all.
- Fewer than 2% of brand mentions included a website link.
The report concludes that AI search works mainly as a brand-awareness layer. It credits visibility to authority signals such as media coverage more than to on-page SEO.
Where the citations come from
- Pages that already rank. Hassan Boussalem of MoveUp Media, writing for iGB Affiliate, cites Ahrefs data showing 38% of AI Mode citations come from pages in the classic top 10. About 44% of citations come from the first third of a page.
- Community discussion. 5W PR, citing research on bingo queries, says all five engines it tested cited Reddit threads more often than trade press. A small set of affiliate sites was also cited.
- Different engines, different sources. Milan Novakovic reports that only 11% of domains are cited by both ChatGPT and Perplexity. He suggests tracking 20 to 30 key queries weekly across assistants.
Novakovic also notes that commercial gambling queries trigger Google's AI Overviews far less often than the average query. White Label Coders says informational pages, such as explanations of wagering requirements, are the most exposed to lost clicks, but gives no figures.
What Google says site owners need
Google's Search Central documentation is direct about this.
| Question | Google's position |
|---|---|
| Do I need an llms.txt or other AI file? | No. Google Search does not use them. |
| Do I need special schema for AI? | No. Structured data is still recommended for normal search features, and must match the visible text. |
| Should I break content into small chunks for AI? | No. There is no ideal page length. |
| Is "AEO" or "GEO" a separate discipline? | Google says optimising for generative AI search is still SEO. |
Google does ask for several things:
- Pages that are indexed and eligible to show a snippet.
- Important content in text.
- Internal links.
- A good page experience.
- Original content based on first-hand expertise, instead of material that repeats what is already online.
It also warns that mass-producing pages for query variations falls under its scaled content abuse policy.
What this means for a smaller brand or affiliate
- Ranking still matters, because a large share of AI citations come from pages that already rank.
- Put the direct answer near the top of the page. This follows from the citation-position figure above, and it also serves readers.
- Publish something only you have: your own tests, numbers and experience. Google names this explicitly.
- Measure being named, not only being clicked. Record the answers for your key queries on a fixed schedule.
The evidence side by side
| Source | What it reports |
|---|---|
| Toucan International, via iGaming Capital, February 2026 | The top 10 of 78 brands held nearly 58% of share of voice. Fewer than 2% of mentions included a link. |
| Ahrefs data, cited by Hassan Boussalem | 38% of AI Mode citations come from the classic top 10. About 44% come from the first third of a page. |
| 5W PR, on bingo queries | All five engines tested cited Reddit threads more often than trade press. |
| Milan Novakovic | Only 11% of domains are cited by both ChatGPT and Perplexity. |
| White Label Coders | Informational pages are the most exposed to lost clicks, with no figures given. |
Limits of this evidence
Toucan's study covers mainly UK-facing brands. The 5W research is an agency's own work on a neighbouring category. Claims that AI-referred visitors convert several times better than organic visitors appear in agency articles without the underlying data. We found no published study of AI answers for gambling queries in Southeast Asian languages.
Key takeaways
- A few large brands take most AI mentions, and almost none of those mentions carry a link.
- Pages that already rank are the most common source of AI Mode citations.
- Google says no llms.txt file, special schema or content rewriting is needed.
- Original, first-hand content on indexable pages is the advice Google gives.
Questions and answers
Do I need an llms.txt file to appear in Google's AI answers?
No. Google's documentation says Search does not use llms.txt or other AI-specific files. Creating one for other services is harmless but has no effect on Google Search.
Do AI assistants send traffic to gambling sites?
Very little, on the evidence available. In Toucan International's study, fewer than 2% of brand mentions included a link.
Does ranking in normal search still matter for AI answers?
Yes. Ahrefs data cited by Hassan Boussalem shows 38% of AI Mode citations come from pages already in the top 10 results.
Do all AI assistants cite the same sources?
No. Milan Novakovic reports that only 11% of domains are cited by both ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Should I rewrite my content in small chunks for AI?
No. Google's documentation says there is no ideal page length, and that optimising for generative AI search is still SEO.
What should a smaller brand or affiliate do first?
Keep ranking in normal search, put the direct answer near the top of the page, and publish your own tests, numbers and experience. Record the answers for your key queries on a fixed schedule.
Sources
- iGaming Capital: bet365 leads AI search visibility (Toucan International report)
- 5W PR: iGaming citation share
- Hassan Boussalem, iGB Affiliate: SEO is not dead, but the version you learned probably is
- Milan Novakovic, iGB Affiliate: The update storm, H1 2026 in search
- Google Search Central: AI features and your website
- Google Search Central: Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search
- White Label Coders: The impact of AI Overviews on iGaming affiliate traffic