Short answer: make sure AI can find your business, trust it, and describe it correctly. In practice, that means publishing real, specific and consistent information on your website, your Google Business Profile and Chinese platforms, then checking once a month what AI says about you. This approach is called GEO (generative engine optimization).

Why AI matters now

More people simply ask AI. By mid-2026, China had more than 700 million users of generative AI, and 76% of them use it to get answers to questions (China Internet Network Information Center, September 2026). For Chinese people coming to Cambodia to travel, scout opportunities or do business, asking Doubao or DeepSeek “which hotel in Phnom Penh is good for a business trip?” before they leave is now completely normal.

Fewer people click through after reading an AI answer. Data from the Pew Research Center in the US shows that when a search result includes an AI summary, users click a link 8% of the time; without an AI summary, they click 15% of the time. The takeaway is simple: if you’re not in the AI answer, customers may never see your website at all.

Chinese visitors are coming back. Cambodia received about 1.2 million Chinese visitors in 2025, up 41.5% year on year. In the first quarter of 2026, China became Cambodia’s largest source of visitors (Cambodia Ministry of Tourism).

AI looks at three things before recommending a business

  1. Can it find you? There is information about the business online that an AI with web search can find, or that the model saw during training.
  2. Can it trust you? Different sources say the same thing, and there are third-party reviews, travel guides or news stories backing you up.
  3. Can it describe you? The information is specific enough for AI to quote directly: address, opening hours, services, price range, who it’s for.

When AI doesn’t recommend a business, one or more of these three is usually missing.

Five steps you can start right away

  1. Start with a check. Ask Doubao, DeepSeek, ChatGPT and Gemini a few questions your customers would ask, such as “which logistics and customs clearance companies in Phnom Penh are reliable?” Start a new chat for each question, and note whether AI mentions you, whether it gets anything wrong, and which competitors it recommends.
  2. Build a website full of facts. Chinese and English names, exact address, phone number, opening hours, main services, price range and who you serve should all be clear. Add an FAQ page, plus structured data for AI and search engines to read.
  3. Complete your Google Business Profile. Foreign visitors and AI with web search both rely on it. Fill in photos, opening hours and services, and keep them up to date.
  4. Make your details the same everywhere. Your business name, address and phone number must match exactly on your website, Google, Facebook, Xiaohongshu and Douyin. When sources contradict each other, AI can’t tell which one is right.
  5. Build up real content on Chinese platforms. If you serve Chinese customers, genuine experiences and introductions on Xiaohongshu, Douyin and WeChat official accounts matter. Encourage happy customers to leave honest reviews.

After that, ask the same questions every month and compare the answers.

Two kinds of business, two different priorities

Type of businessExamplesFocus first on
Serving Chinese visitorsChinese restaurants, hotels, travel agencies, car hire and airport transfers, company registration and visa servicesChinese AI (Doubao, DeepSeek) and Chinese platforms
Serving local and overseas clientsFactories, building materials, logistics, tradingAn English website, Google Business Profile, and English-language AI such as ChatGPT and Gemini

Three common mistakes

  • Keyword stuffing. The GEO research paper found that classic SEO keyword stuffing barely helps with AI answers, and when tested on a real AI search engine it actually made visibility worse.
  • Fake reviews and exaggerated claims. AI cross-checks multiple sources. Content that isn’t true stops working once the model is updated or the platform cleans it up, and it can even lead AI to describe you negatively.
  • Expecting to be number one straight away. Once the information is in place, AI with web search usually shows changes within a few weeks. Models without web search have to wait for an update, which takes months. No one can make sure an AI puts you first.

Need help?

I’m Martin Qi (漆显毅). I live in Cambodia and help Chinese-owned businesses with GEO and practical AI. I work in Chinese and English, can visit you on site, and only work with real information. If you’d like to know how your business currently shows up in AI answers, email hello@martingeo.net and I’ll start with a free manual check.

You can also try the free online AI visibility check. The free AI visibility check is currently available in Chinese.

Sources