While Philippine brands lead with an 83% visibility rate in AI answers, Spiralytics reveals that 95% of those recommendations rely on third-party sources rather than the brands’ websites.
Philippine companies appeared in 83.2% of the AI answers where they should have been mentioned, compared with 40% for a comparison group of US brands, according to a 2026 study by digital marketing agency Spiralytics.
Conducted from June 4 to August 3, 2026, the study generated 1,146 real buyer questions for 26 brands, screened each question, and evaluated every winnable query across ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity. In total, researchers read and stored 1,911 AI-generated answers.
The findings point to a growing opportunity for local businesses as consumers increasingly shift from traditional search toward conversational AI. As AI becomes part of how people research products, services, and companies, being named in AI-generated answers is emerging as another important measure of online presence and visibility alongside traditional search engine optimization (SEO).
A New Visibility Gap for Philippine Brands
Spiralytics identified a structural gap for marketing and corporate communications teams: 95% of the sources cited by AI engines when answering questions about Philippine products and services do not belong to the brands themselves.
Instead, AI engines frequently rely on third-party editorial coverage, news reports, industry roundups, and online directories to form their answers.
“Surprisingly, backlink authority did not predict AI visibility anywhere in our data,” said Gabe Tagala, Head of SEO at Spiralytics.
“It does not mean SEO is obsolete. Links still matter where rankings live. But AI keeps a different score: whether the engine can tell which company you are, and if reputable third parties can vouch for you,” he added.
Key Findings from the 2026 Study
● Engines behave like different editors.
Google Gemini was the most brand-friendly for Philippine queries, recording a 62.6% mention rate, followed by Perplexity at 57.4% and ChatGPT at 45.2%.
● Absence is sticky.
Philippine brands were missing from the three engines’ responses for one in six commercial questions where they should have appeared.
In a repeat test involving one brand and 11 identical runs, 90% of unanswered questions remained unanswered every time. According to Spiralytics, this suggests that AI omission can persist until either the brand’s identity signals or its third-party coverage changes.
● Local naming remains a challenge.
The study found that AI engines sometimes confused Philippine companies with overseas namesakes, declined to clearly identify which company was being discussed, or folded subsidiaries into their larger parent conglomerates.
The Role of Third-Party Sources
The study also highlighted a significant difference in how citations are distributed between the Philippine and US comparison groups.
For the US comparison group, competitor websites accounted for 60.7% of AI citations. In Philippine AI answers, competitor websites accounted for 36%, leaving much of the opportunity within the editorial and online-directory layer still largely unclaimed.
While citation opportunities remain open, Spiralytics recommends that local brands strengthen their entity signals, earn credible media coverage, and actively monitor their broader digital footprint.
“This window won’t stay open,” said Jimmy Cassells, co-founder and CEO of Spiralytics. “Brands who will move now and treat SERP and AI visibility as a connected strategy are the ones who will still be recommended a year from now,” he added.
Measuring Visibility in AI Search
For businesses looking to assess their current presence in AI-generated search results, Spiralytics offers a free AI visibility scan that runs a brand’s real buyer questions through ChatGPT and reports where the brand appears—and which companies are recommended instead.
Businesses can access the Spiralytics free AI visibility scan.
The full study, including its methodology and honesty notes, is available through Spiralytics’ 2026 AI Search Philippines Study.
