The YouTube-to-AI Overviews Gap: Why Views Don’t Equal Search Visibility (And What SMEs Should Do Now)
YouTube is showing up as a primary citation inside Google’s AI answers, but most teams still measure video like it’s 2012: by views. In 2026, the real ROI of creator partnerships shows up downstream—in AI citations, referral traffic, assisted conversions, and brand preference. Here’s how to build a practical, measurable YouTube partnership engine that supports SEO/AEO/GEO, with an execution plan SMEs can actually run.