Philippine brands lead in AI visibility despite reliance on third-party sources

A 2026 study by digital marketing agency Spiralytics reveals that Philippine brands maintain a high visibility rate of 83.2% in AI-generated answers, significantly higher than the 40% visibility rate found in a comparison group of US brands.

However, the research highlights a major structural gap in how this visibility is achieved. Approximately 95% of the sources cited by AI engines when discussing Philippine products and services are third-party entities, such as news reports, industry roundups, and online directories, rather than the brands’ own websites.

According to Gabe Tagala, Head of SEO at Spiralytics, backlink authority did not predict AI visibility in the study. While traditional SEO remains relevant for search rankings, AI visibility depends on whether engines can identify a company and whether reputable third parties vouch for them. Among the platforms tested, Google Gemini was the most brand-friendly for Philippine queries, followed by Perplexity and ChatGPT.