Can the affiliate model, which pays a website when a user makes a purchase via its link, survive payments made directly within AI Mode and the Gemini app? In an advice column on SEO, an expert answers that the link remains useful, provided you don’t rely on a single monetization method.
A reader’s question starts from an observation: with Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), payment can take place within AI Mode, Google Search, and the Gemini app. A US buyer can thus get information and make a purchase without ever visiting the merchant’s site. However, affiliation traditionally relies on a click, which places a cookie, a small tracking file, to attribute the sale to the partner that generated it.
For the expert, the answer is yes, links still matter. He compares the situation to that of Shopify, which offers Google Direct Checkout via UCP. This does not mean the merchant should abandon their online store, and he advises diversifying revenue sources and working with brands that are not limited to links.
Tracking that has evolved a lot
According to the expert, cookie-based tracking techniques have fallen out of fashion for several years, with the widespread use of mobile browsing. Many users research on mobile and then purchase on a computer, which gave rise to cross-device tracking, shopping cart synchronization for logged-in users, and server-to-server tracking. He also mentions digital fingerprinting, or fingerprinting, developed by networks like Buy.at at the time.
Other methods exist. Some companies run TV ads and match IP addresses from the same household to attribute sales. The expert also cites IP hashing, alternative methods from TV Scientific and AudioHook, and personalized promo codes. However, he warns: these codes must not leak to coupon sites, browser extensions, nor be displayed by an AI to users the affiliate did not refer.
Purchases that bypass the link
The risk of Google intercepting the order and removing the link is, in his view, legitimate. But the situation already exists elsewhere: TikTok Shop, or the Walmart app integrated into ChatGPT, keep the purchase on the platform and completely bypass the link. A user can read content and then buy on TikTok.
Some affiliate programs pay no commission on sales made by third-party sellers on marketplaces, even if the click is recorded. The expert then advises choosing other programs, knowing where you are sending your traffic.
Consumer trust
The expert puts forward another argument: consumers are wary of AI. Speakers at university graduation ceremonies are regularly booed when they talk about it, and some generations avoid brands that use it to create images. AI-generated ads are also less engaging, and users convert less when a site’s images are obviously produced by AI, according to a Baymard study cited in the article.
AI Overviews cannot demonstrate a product, the expert reminds, and buyers, especially for expensive purchases like bikes, software, or computers, continue to seek content created by humans. He therefore recommends stating in the affiliate disclosure that the click supports the site, and he notes that the FTC, as well as some international bodies, require these disclosures.
