Gemini answer sampling and Google Search AI features are related to Google’s ecosystem but are not one measurement surface. Google states that Search AI features use normal Search technical foundations and require no special AI schema or text file. Google-Extended is a separate control, not the ordinary Googlebot indexing switch.
Storefront preflight
Our five-store Googlebot-string check returned 200 for The Woobles, Rhode, Ring, HexClad, and MyFonts. That did not test Gemini answers.
curl -sSIL -A 'Googlebot/2.1' https://example.com/products/item
curl -sS https://example.com/robots.txt
Check Search Console indexing, selected canonical, product structured data, and Merchant Center issues where used.
Gemini observation
Use fixed discovery, constraint, and brand-verification prompts. Save exact answer, displayed sources, timestamp, locale, and interface mode. Do not import a Google Search citation result as a Gemini result.
The Woobles stock conflict is a useful accuracy fixture: any answer asserting current availability must be compared with a freshly observed buy state.
Reporting
Report Gemini sampled, not “Google visibility,” and distinguish official storefront citation, brand-only mention, third-party source, and provider failure.
Primary source: Google AI features guidance.