May 25, 2026 • Google’s recent AI optimization guidelines  apply only to its search portal with AI Overviews and AI Mode, and not necessarily to Gemini or other generative AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude. Visibility on those platforms is crucial, yet none provide guidance or suggest tactics. A useful first step is to understand how the platforms generate answers to prompts. I’ll explain in this post. 1. Training layer Upon receiving a prompt, genAI platforms first check whether their training data includes enough info on the topic to answer. In many cases, training data is sufficient, and the process stops there. Training data doesn’t store URLs, nor does it rank sources, unlike traditional search engines. The data comes from known brands with clear value propositions that answer or solve a need. 2. Retrieval eligibility Next, if the training data is insufficient, the platform will query search engines, as humans do. At this point, visibility relies on search rankings.…