2013–2014

After an unsuccessful attempt in 2009, Gilbert recommenced his search for his birth parents in 2013.^[28] He used Russian social networking websites to locate them. In November 2013, Gilbert travelled to Russia to meet his birth parents for the first time.

Gilbert's trip and his meetings with his birth parents was filmed for New Zealand's TV One's current affairs show Sunday, and the report was broadcast in 2014.^[9] In the same year' Gilbert wrote and released his autobiographical book My Russian Side, along with an autobiographical documentary film.^[29][30]

2015–2017

In July 2015 Gilbert established an online community and registered charity I'm Adopted to allow adopted people to share their stories.^{[2][31] [32]} The project is a platform that helps adoptees around the world to share their personal experiences with adoption through social media.^[33][34] The project also holds meet-ups and events, and is available in several languages including English, Russian and Spanish.^[35] Since 2019, I'm Adopted also produces a podcast.^[36][37][38]

At the end of 2015, Gilbert appeared on Russian television station 1TV's programme Let them Talk, where his biological parents met his New Zealand parents for the first time. The show highlighted the early impact of the organisation I'm Adopted.^[39] In February 2017, Gilbert was a key speaker at an event at the New Zealand Parliament to help raise awareness for I'm Adopted and its projects, where he was joined by Wendy Hawke, the director of Inter-Country Adoption New Zealand.^[1][40]

In October 2017 Gilbert went to Russia to visit the orphanage in Arkhangelsk^[41] for the first time since he left in 1994.^[42][43] He returned to the orphanage the following year.^[44] Gilbert also talked with adopted teenagers and parents in Moscow for the adoption charity Arifmetika Dobra.^[45][46] Gilbert also met Anna Kuznetsova, the former Children's Rights Commissioner for the Russian Federation, which was headquartered in Moscow.^[47][48]

In November 2017, Gilbert shared a video of his first meeting with his birth father on the social media platform Reddit; the video went viral and was published on the LADbible Facebook page.^[49][50]

2018–2019

In early 2018, Gilbert independently released his second autobiography I'm Adopted. A full-length interview that was based on the book was released in late June. Gilbert collected and hand-delivered supplies for his orphanage in Arkhangelsk, Russia, in October 2018.^[51]

In January 2018, Gilbert appeared in the Russian documentary "The Man from Nowhere"^[52] which was directed by Russian journalist and documentary writer Katerina Gordeeva.^[53]

In July 2018, Gilbert spoke via video link at the International Conference on Adoption Research 6 in Montreal, Canada, and hosted the first I'm Adopted overseas meetup in Galway, Ireland, on 1 August 2018.^[54][55]

Also in 2018, Gilbert teamed up with the charity Arifmetika Dobra for another presentation with parents and adopted children. He was joined with Russian author Diana Mashkova. The event was held at Elektrostal inside of the Moscow region of Russia.^[56][57]

In January 2019, the Russian version of his autobiography titled «Я – приёмный сын» (I'm an Adopted Son) was released with a physical limited release with support of the Timchenko Foundation in Moscow, Russia. The book is published by Alpina Books, Russia, and a copy is held at the Russian State Library in Moscow.^[58][59][60]

2020

In September 2020, Gilbert contributed to the Rudd Adoption Program for the University of Massachusetts Amherst with his work with I'm Adopted.^[61]

The following year, Gilbert was nominated for Young New Zealander of the Year for 2019, as well as a nomination for New Zealander of the Year.^[11][62]

Gilbert appeared in the Stuff documentary film Emma (2020), in which he helps a girl named Emma find her birth family in Russia. Emma then visits to Russia to meet her birth parents for the first time.^[63] In 2021, the documentary won the Best Documentary award at that year's Voyager Internet Media Awards.^[64][65][66]

2021

In the beginning of 2021, Gilbert temporarily moved to Russia, living mostly in the Moscow region.^[67] Gilbert documented his time there by publishing videos to his YouTube channel.^[68] He also again met with his birth mother Tatiana in Rybinsk,^[69] as well as his birth father Mihail and his family in Saint Petersburg.^[70]

He had also visited Arkhangelsk, a village in Vladimir Oblast and Altai Krai in Western Siberia. Gilbert also completed filming for Reunited during his time there. After almost six months, by the end of July 2021, Gilbert returned to New Zealand.^[71]

2022 and later

In September 2019, TVNZ announced Gilbert would be hosting a television series called Reunited.^[38] The show focuses on his work with I'm Adopted and the help with adopted people finding their birth families.^[37][67][72] Filming for the series finished in 2021.^[73] Gilbert also served as a writer and narrator for the series. Season One aired in February 2022 on TVNZ 1; it had a positive reception, noting Gilberts compassion towards the adopted person. The series was noted for its cinematography.^{[74][75][4][76]}

From November 2022, Gilbert began to publish his first online ongoing series An Adoption Story through his YouTube channel.^[77] The series follows Alex as he meets other adoptees to share their stories. The series has been filmed in New Zealand, the United States and Italy.^[77][78] In September 2023, the series was released on Amazon Prime.^[79]

His documentary short film, My Kazakhstan Connection which follows the story of Gilbert searching for his biological family links in Kazakhstan is due to be released in 2024.^[80][81]