- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 04/Sep 09:24

Is your business visible to AI?

The way people discover information online has changed forever. Traditional search engines are no longer the only game in town. In 2025, conversational AI and generative search engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews are becoming the first stop for answers. But here’s the part that should make every Caribbean business owner sit up straight: AI isn’t pulling its answers from the same sources we grew up with. According to a Semrush study of 150,000 AI citations across 5,000 keywords, the top ten sources that feed AI assistants today are: · Reddit (40.1 per cent), · Wikipedia (26.3 per cent), · YouTube (23.5 per cent), · Google Search (23.3 per cent), · Yelp (21 per cent), · Facebook (20 per cent), · Amazon (18.7 per cent), · Tripadvisor (12.5 per cent), · Mapbox (11.3 per cent) and · OpenStreetMap (11.3 per cent). Reddit, of all places, is now the number one source of information for AI systems –outpacing Google and Wikipedia for the first time in history. Caribbean businesses are absent from these platforms Here’s the truth: most Caribbean businesses don’t think to build a presence on platforms like Reddit, YouTube or Tripadvisor. [caption id="attachment_1175944" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Early adaptation of GEO can help Caribbean businesses gain a distinct competitive advantage and level the playing field. -[/caption] Because of that, they’re simply removed from the conversation. For many businesses, these platforms feel like "extra work" – they’d rather chase virality on Instagram or TikTok. But those short-term plays don’t build the kind of sustainable, predictable growth that AI search visibility now demands. If your brand isn’t present on the platforms where AI pulls its answers, you won’t be found – no matter how much you post on social media. What I’ve seen firsthand When I use ChatGPT or Gemini, especially for Caribbean-specific queries, the answers almost always pull from local media houses. Why? Because media outlets are the ones publishing consistent blogs and articles that get indexed. Most businesses don’t have a blog, and if they do, they don’t produce enough content. That’s why, since 2016, blogging has been the backbone of my strategy. My content has driven millions of impressions from Google Search alone, and organic search is consistently my number one or number two source of traffic. When it isn’t number one, it’s because my blogs performed so well on social media that the referral traffic spiked. And now, with AI indexing everything from my blog to my YouTube videos and even my podcast episodes, I’m seeing my work surface in entirely new ways. The lesson? Content builds compounding value – and in this new AI-driven landscape, it’s paying off even more. From SEO to GEO Here’s the shift every business needs to understand: we’ve officially moved from SEO (search engine optimisation) to GEO (generative engine optimisation). SEO was about ranking high on Google and driving clicks. GEO is about being cited or featured in AI-generated answers. That means the old playbook doesn’t work anymore. Businesses can’t just hire marketers who know media buying and trade shows, or agencies who pump out generic ads. Those tactics won’t get you into AI answers. Yet that’s exactly what I see in the Caribbean – marketing teams filled with practitioners who understand the old world, not the new. Companies have no blogs, no YouTube channels, no presence in high-intent searches and now, they’re invisible in GEO too. The trust question [caption id="attachment_1175945" align="alignnone" width="1024"] -[/caption] One thing I do wonder about is how this plays out in the Caribbean, where trust dynamics are unique. Globally, people love user-generated platforms like Reddit because they want "real answers from real people." But here at home, social media is often filled with drama and misinformation, and people don’t always separate truth from fiction. That’s why media houses are still considered the most respected sources. So while Reddit might dominate globally, I think Caribbean consumers may still lean more on media content when AI surfaces it. Either way, it means businesses need to create content that builds trust – not just ads or flashy campaigns. Why my catalogue matters Looking back, one of the best decisions I ever made was to create across multiple formats – blogging, YouTube, podcasting and media columns. That catalogue of content has made me the most consistent creator of digital marketing and e-commerce content in the Caribbean. And now? AI tools are indexing all of it. When someone in the region asks a digital business question, there’s a high chance my work is what gets cited back to them. That creates brand trust, drives leads and reinforces my positioning. This didn’t happen overnight. It’s the result of years of putting in the work. But it proves that content built for humans first eventually becomes the training ground for AI. The first step for businesses feeling "late" If you’re a Caribbean business owner who feels late to the game, here’s the good news – you’re not too late. But you do need to start with infrastructure. Get a website. Launch a YouTube channel. Start a podcast. These are your owned platforms – the ones that not only get indexed by AI, but also give you multiple ways to tell your story. Without them, you aren’t even in the game. The future of visibility is clear: AI assistants are shaping what people learn, buy and trust. If your business isn’t feeding into that pipeline, someone else’s will. The question you need to ask yourself today is simple: Will AI be answering with your content – or your competitor’s? Keron Rose is a Caribbean-based digital strategist and digital nomad currently living in Thailand. He helps entrepreneurs across the region build their digital presence, monetise their platforms and tap into global opportunities. Through his content and experiences in Asia, Rose shares real-world insights to help the Caribbean think bigger and move smarter in the digital age. Listen to the Digipreneur FM podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.   The post Is your business visible to AI? appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.