A guide to AI brand visibility for UAE cultural brands

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TL;DR: When they have a question, people aren’t just going to Google anymore. They have a conversation with ChatGPT or Gemini and ask them about things to do and fun events to go to in their area or near a travel destination. That conversation is where any company in the culture space needs to be mentioned. But that’s not going to happen unless brands proactively adapt their online presence to make sure it’s getting picked up by AI. Basic event listings don’t cut it anymore. AI needs rich, well-structured event descriptions supported by other sources. I’ll explain…

Let's take tourists. Events have always been a great way for tourists to immerse themselves in a new culture while visiting another country. It gets them out of the hotel room and into the heart of a place. So, when planning their itinerary, tourists are often looking out for festivals, exhibitions, shows and other events that make their trip even more interesting. 

The difference now is that more and more tourists are using AI tools to help make their travel plans. It’s a much easier way to get personalised recommendations in the comfort of their own language compared to scrolling through pages and pages of Google search results. 

The same goes for locals who are asking Gemini what to do this weekend, what concerts and events are happening in their city.

So, if you’ve been relying on publishing your events on Eventbrite to drive traffic, you could be missing out. While Eventbrite often reaches the top of Google search results as a trusted source of information, AI search isn’t picking up from where Google left off. AI tools have written their own rules for deciding what information they will include in their answers. Brands can either adapt or risk being overlooked.

Optimising online event listings: Old school vs the new kid on the block

Organisers have long had to play the algorithm game when marketing events online. No one can rely on visitors stumbling upon their websites. They need to get found where visitors do their research for their trip. Until now, Google has dominated that area. Get the Google algorithm to like you, and you’re sitting pretty. 

Except now there’s a new kid on the block, slowly but surely tempting users with its bright and shiny way of travel planning - getting AI tools to do all the hard work for you. It’s got a lot of draw as users can so specifically personalise the search results, get answers in their chosen language and receive organised itineraries instead of having to take the information they find on Google and put it together themselves. 

This is why search queries are changing too. On Google, you’ll search something like “top festivals Dubai 2026.” The focus is on keywords. AI search queries are much more conversational like “What are some cool festivals in Dubai city or maximum 1h away driving this autumn?”

While Google still has the bigger slice of the search pie, brands and businesses that want to stay ahead need to start adapting to AI search so they don’t risk losing online discoverability as the AI revolution continues.

There’s one major difference in optimising for Google and optimising for AI search. Google lists and AI answers. Google produces a list of relevant websites while AI uses websites to form its own answers. And that’s why an Eventbrite link isn’t going to cut it. AI needs more from organisations to be able to recommend their events. 

How to make your event discoverable through AI search

The great thing about AI is that it includes real-time information in its answers. It’s looking for the newest updates to make its answers as relevant and useful as possible for users. So if you’re running a one-month, one-week or even one-day event, you still have a chance of getting mentioned by AI. You just need to pass the AI discoverability test first. 

Use an event schema

First things first, use schema markup when creating the sign-up page for your event. This is basically a bit of code in the backend that tells AI you’re talking about an event. You’ll also be able to specify where certain important information is, including the date, time, location and ticket price. This will make it a lot easier for AI tools to find and interpret information about your event, increasing the likelihood that they will recommend it to users. 

The golden rule of AI optimisation is to never make AI algorithms work hard to figure out what they’re reading. It’ll only put a barrier between you and AI search visibility. 

Write prompt-lead content

Answer the questions your customers are asking AI. If you help AI out, AI will help you out with a mention. You can find out what prompts people are using through AI brand visibility tools like Spotlight. Create content that includes and answers those questions and you’ll be on your way to AI visibility. Take your time when writing the description of the event. This is where AI can glean the context and understanding it needs to know when and how to recommend your event. Get into the details of what visitors can expect and the cultural significance behind it. Give context about you as organisers for additional background. Use conversational language here because that’s what AI prefers when forming its answers. It’s trying to sound human and learns that from you. Grab our guide to winning over AI with your words for more direction with this. 

Answer follow-up questions

Think of AI search as a conversation. A user might start by asking about events in the general area they are visiting. Then they might narrow down their search by adding more factors, like family-friendly. When they see some options that they are interested in, they’ll follow up with more questions to determine whether it’s the right choice for them, such as opening hours and travel routes. Cover those kinds of questions in your online content to make sure that AI tools can effectively promote and direct people to your event. 

Use multiple languages

While AI tools can translate information between languages, their first port of call is usually to quote from sources in the user’s chosen language. By writing multi-lingual event descriptions, you can also make sure that the information users are being given is accurate and nothing is getting lost in translation. It’s best to at least write about your event in English and Arabic. Then review where your visitors tend to come from to decide whether any other languages would be useful to include too.  

Cross promote

A major deciding factor in whether you get mentioned by AI is credibility. When there are plenty of options to choose from, AI will usually choose the events that seem the most reputable. How do you make your event seem more reputable, I hear you ask? Leverage the credibility of other sites. Get your event listed on travel and cultural websites with authority and their shine will reflect on you. Don’t get this confused with SEO backlinks. It’s not just about the link. It’s about what those websites say about you. Get a proper shoutout that sings your praises.

We’re not starting from scratch when it comes to AI search visibility. Promoting your event on places like Eventbrite and travel publications will still boost your credibility with AI. We just need to make a few adjustments to ensure AI has enough easy-to-find and easy-to-interpret information about your events to be able to write about them in its answers. 

Wouldn’t it be awesome if, when people asked AI ‘What cultural events can I go to on my trip?’ your events popped up? Let us help make that happen for you with copywriting that convinces AI to talk about your events and people to sign up for them. decipher. the world of AI-optimised copywriting and take advantage of this new opportunity to reach visitors.