Herein, we report a Csp 2 −Csp cross-coupling process involving the merger of gold catalysis and visible light photocatalysis leading to the alkynylative cyclization of o-alkynyl benzoic acids. The corresponding and previously undescribed alkynylidenephthalide products were obtained as mixtures of E:Z isomers. The key C−C bond formation is based on the photoactivation of the oxidative addition of an alkynyliodide to a vinylgold(I) intermediate resulting from an initial 5-exo-dig cyclization pathway, as supported by mechanistic studies including DFT calculations.