Last updated 13.03.2026

TL;DR: Everyone wants a piece of the AI pie, and the UAE is wasting no time in getting it! With significant investment from both private and government institutions, AI integration is moving fast. UAE brands that want to be found and recommended by tools like ChatGPT need to act now. That means building brand authority, structuring content for AI comprehension, answering the prompts customers are actually using, and ensuring Arabic content is backed by strong English equivalents to avoid misrepresentation. 

Celebrity endorsements have been used to propel brands back into relevancy and make both the celebrity and the brand a lot of money. One example of this is so infamous that it’s been turned into a film: the collaboration between Michael Jordan and Nike, which developed into the renowned Air Jordan brand.

That’s great and all, but not very accessible to SMEs who don’t have millions to pay celebrities to become the face of their brands. 

For SMEs, the most powerful endorsement a brand can receive is from ChatGPT.

Think about it. A recommendation from an AI tool carries real weight. It's trusted, it's instant, and it reaches people at exactly the moment they're making a decision. And unlike a seven-figure brand deal, it doesn't require a budget most businesses simply don't have.

AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini already mention brands in their answers, cite them as sources, recommend them as solutions, and position them in front of customers who are actively looking. That's a form of endorsement that's available to any brand willing to show up correctly.

The good news is there's a way to encourage it. AI search visibility is a learnable, achievable strategy - and for UAE brands specifically, the timing couldn't be better.

SEO vs ChatGPT optimisation: Why they're not the same thing

Yes, both Google and ChatGPT help people find answers, but the way they do it is completely different, and so is what they need from your content.

Google crawls your pages and ranks them. ChatGPT reads, synthesises, and writes. It doesn't return a list of links - it composes a response, pulling from sources it considers credible, well-structured, and genuinely useful. That's a different job, and it requires a different approach.

ChatGPT in particular has become a go-to for purchase decisions, service recommendations, and brand comparisons. When someone asks "what's the best marketing agency in Dubai?" or "which skincare brand should I try in the UAE?", ChatGPT gives them a name, sometimes yours, sometimes your competitor's. The question is: what makes it choose?

AI wants well-trusted sources with well-structured content answering well-used prompts. If you tick these boxes, you’re well on your way to AI visibility. 

Why ChatGPT is the platform UAE brands should focus on first

I know, I know, optimising for AI systems, particularly ChatGPT, feels like yet another thing to add to your ever-growing list. But AI search optimisation is definitely worth your time, particularly as a UAE brand, and here’s why. 

AI has a very high adoption rate in the UAE. It’s thought that its AI market will grow from $3.47 billion in 2023-2024 all the way to $46.33 billion by 2030. That means a lot of your customer base will be using AI. If your customers are spending time on AI tools, you need to be visible there too. 

And of all the AI tools gaining traction in the UAE, ChatGPT is the one with the most direct impact on brand visibility right now.

When ChatGPT launched in November 2022, it was the topic everybody was talking about, particularly because of its impact on search. After only 2 months, ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer app in history and as of October 2025, ChatGPT sees over 800M weekly active users and 2.5B daily prompts.

Moreover, ChatGPT now commands 20% of search worldwide, accounting for web and app usage and excluding only-asking prompts.

But what does this mean for your business? As AI becomes ingrained in our way of living, it’s what customers will automatically turn to when making decisions about travel, finance, online shopping and more. Be there or lose visibility. 

How to get ChatGPT to mention your brand

ChatGPT doesn't pull from a real-time web search by default, it draws on what it learned during training, supplemented by browsing when enabled. That means getting cited isn't just about having a website. It's about being the kind of source ChatGPT has learned to trust. Here's what that looks like in practice.

Build brand authority

ChatGPT won't recommend brands it can't verify. If your content doesn't clearly establish who you are, what you do, and why you're credible, it has no real reason to cite you over someone else.

Build authority throughout your site, not just your homepage. About pages, team bios, blog author sections, and case studies all contribute to the picture ChatGPT builds of your brand. Credentials, awards, client results, and years of experience aren't just nice-to-haves. They're the signals ChatGPT uses to decide whether you're worth referencing.

Answer the questions your customers are actually asking ChatGPT

ChatGPT exists to answer questions. The brands it cites are the ones already answering those questions well - in the right language, with the right level of detail.

Think about what your customers would genuinely type into ChatGPT. "Best [service] in Dubai." "Who does [X] in the UAE?" "Is [brand] worth it." Those are the prompts your content should be addressing, directly, clearly, and in a way that's easy to quote. If your content is well-written but does not answer those specific questions, it won't get picked up.

Give it some pizazz

Generic content makes ChatGPT sound generic and it knows that. The responses people find most useful tend to draw from content with a clear point of view, a distinct voice, and something real to say.

Don't be afraid to have opinions. Use examples from your own experience. Write in a way that's recognisably yours. ChatGPT gravitates towards content that adds something to the conversation rather than restating what's already everywhere. A strong brand voice isn't just good marketing, it's what makes you quotable.

Add structure

Structure is how ChatGPT navigates your content. Clear subheadings, logical flow, bullet points, and comparison tables all help it understand what it's reading and where to find specific information.

On the technical side, metadata and schema markup do the same job at a deeper level. FAQ schema, author markup, and product descriptions act as signposts, telling ChatGPT exactly what each section is, who wrote it, and what question it answers. Think of it as giving ChatGPT a guided tour of your website rather than leaving it to piece things together on its own.

Note: The limitations of the Arabic AI UX

There’s another factor that we need to talk about when it comes to UAE brands. Most of us like to search in our native language. So it’s fair to say that your customers will be conversing with AI in Arabic. That’s proving to be a bit of a problem…

AI doesn’t seem to have a handle on Arabic like it does with English. The answers to questions are getting a bit lost in translation. This is probably due to the learning material AI is trained on being mostly in English (that’s the majority of online content) and the nuances across the different dialects of Arabic. 

This isn’t just a problem for the companies behind AI tools, that are providing a poor user experience for a significant subsection of their audience. It’s also a problem for UAE brands. 

This lack of understanding could prevent relevant brands from being recommended and lead to them being misquoted. It could quite easily undermine brand perception and trust because the AI-generated answer doesn’t clearly get the point across. 

What can you do to help AI understand your brand?

• Use bilingual content on your website so AI can read the important details in the language it’s most proficient in.

• Give cultural context in English as a way to provide the nuance AI might otherwise miss. 

• Include Arabic metadata and prompts in your content because that’s what your customers, and therefore AI, are searching for. 

There is work being done to fix this issue. Companies are developing AI tools that are made for Arabic speakers so that they have a better hold on the language. Keep an eye on Falcon, Jais, and Noor. At the moment, we are still learning about this gap and how to overcome it. 

How to get started with AI optimisation 

There’s so much potential in AI. With the government’s focus on AI, we’re likely going to see a lot of it come to fruition in the UAE. Keeping up with AI means keeping up with your customers. Here’s a summary of what you can do to win at AI search and use this opportunity for business growth.

• Sort out your structure - Review your metadata and schemas to map out what AI can find where on your website. 

• Tell your story - Share information about your brand in English and Arabic to prove to AI why you can be trusted. 

• Do the translation for them - Answer Arabic language AI prompts in both English and Arabic so nothing gets lost in translation. 

• Be quotable - AI wants to summarise your content. Make it easy for them by getting rid of the fluff and making your point super clear. Use these templates as a guide for writing AI-optimised content. 

Finally, speak to us at decipher. We write content that is findable and usable by AI and engaging and loved by humans, with a specialism in UAE-focused brand visibility consulting.