ZAWYA: UAE startups lead the region’s adoption of Generative Engine Optimization as AI reshapes business discovery

ZAWYA: UAE startups lead the region’s adoption of Generative Engine Optimization as AI reshapes business discovery

Dubai-based Narrative & Co. launches to help businesses improve their visibility across AI-powered search platforms.

Dubai, UAE - As artificial intelligence changes the way people find information, products, and services online, the way businesses are discovered is changing too.

For years, people searched by typing keywords into search engines like Google and scrolling through several links. Today, however, consumer behavior has shifted, with users increasingly bypassing traditional search in favor of AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google Gemini. Instead of browsing pages of search results, they now ask direct conversational questions and receive curated recommendations and structured answers. This shift is changing not only how people search, but also how businesses are found. And as this new behavior becomes more common, visibility increasingly depends on being present where people now ask questions.

With the UAE continuing to position itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence and digital innovation, startups in the country are among the first in the region to embrace this shift. As AI-generated answers increasingly become the first point of contact between consumers and brands, businesses that adapt early will be better positioned to build visibility, trust, and lasting customer relationships in an AI-driven world.

Recognizing this market shift, Narrative & Co. has launched in Dubai as one of the UAE's new consultancies dedicated exclusively to GEO.

The company helps businesses understand how AI platforms see their brand and improve the content and information those systems rely on, increasing their chances of being recommended when customers turn to AI for answers.

Aya Malaeb, Head of Content Strategy at Narrative & Co., said: “How people discover brands has changed. They’re now asking AI chatbots questions and receiving a list of recommendations. What gets recommended depends on what AI finds about you online - your language, your content, and how credible you sound. The businesses that are succeeding aren’t overthinking the technology; they’re simply being clear and consistent in how they communicate so AI can recommend them. That’s why we started Narrative & Co. to help businesses across UAE and the region shape how they’re discovered and understood by AI.”

As conversational AI becomes increasingly integrated into everyday life, GEO is expected to become a core part of every company’s digital strategy.

The launch of Narrative & Co. marks a new approach to digital visibility, one shaped by how AI systems understand, interpret, and recommend businesses.

Narrative & Co. is a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and communications firm based in the UAE. The firm helps businesses get found, cited, and recommended by AI systems and LLM, combining narrative strategy with technical content structuring to improve how brands are represented in AI-generated answers.

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