Mentions of Philippine brands in Google AI Overviews rose more than twentyfold in 2025, a sign that artificial intelligence (AI) is fast becoming a gateway through which Filipino consumers find businesses online, according to a year-long study by digital marketing firm Truelogic.
Over the same period, organic branded traffic across 80 Philippine websites fell by 3 to 8 percent. The study, however, noted that while the two trends happened in parallel, it did not establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between them.
The study tracked 80 brands across seven sectors. Retail, e-commerce, and real estate posted the strongest growth in AI visibility.
Brands that performed better in AI results generally shared three traits, the study found: high brand search interest, clearly structured content, and well-optimized websites.
‘Being found is no longer just about ranking for the right keywords,’ said Bernard San Juan III, managing partner of Truelogic. ‘AI is more likely to surface brands it can understand and trust.’
San Juan said this means businesses ‘need to make their expertise easy to verify, organize their content around the questions customers ask, and remain consistently present across credible sources-from news coverage and reviews to social media.’
Traditional search engines give users a list of links they must sift through to find an answer. AI search, by contrast, lets consumers ask conversational questions and receive curated answers, comparisons, and recommendations in a single response.
Filipinos have been quick to adopt these tools. The Digital 2026 report by We Are Social, Meltwater, and GWI showed that 42.4 percent of Filipino internet users surveyed had used ChatGPT in the previous month, ranking the Philippines sixth globally.
San Juan said the shift is pushing brands beyond traditional search engine optimization (SEO). While ranking well in search results still matters, brands must also ensure that AI platforms can understand their content, verify their expertise, and recognize them as credible sources.
He noted that the firm’s own client data mirrored the trend. Across 40 projects, Truelogic clients recorded a 750-percent increase in AI visibility from January to July 2025, against the 400-percent average across Philippine websites during the same period.
One of these clients, described as a leading Philippine bank, achieved the highest AI share of voice in its peer group at 38.1 percent. A major property developer, meanwhile, captured a 53.38-percent AI share of voice across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity-3.8 times that of its closest competitor.
The study concluded that neither size nor legacy guarantees leadership in AI search. As AI platforms mature, Philippine brands that build authority, structure their content for AI, and keep a consistent presence across credible channels will be better positioned to appear in AI-generated answers and recommendations.