FOR Jamaican businesses long focused on getting to the top of a Google
search page, the challenge is no longer just ranking, it is showing up in the answer itself, as visibility shifts towards being understood and recommended by artificial intelligence (AI).

“AEO [answer engine optimisation] and GEO [generative engine optimisation] [are] important as businesses go into the future because this is how people will be finding you now,” said Christopher Derrell, operations manager and head of web development at Adtelligent.

At a recent JBDC Virtual Biz Zone session, Derrell pointed to a shift in how customers are finding businesses, with tools like ChatGPT increasingly shaping discovery alongside traditional search engines. He encouraged businesses to begin leveraging AI tools as a strategic marketing engine, particularly as traditional SEO (search engine optimisation) evolves and newer frameworks like GEO and answer engine optimisation AEO gain traction. These emerging models reflect how users now search, less by keywords and more through questions, fundamentally changing how businesses are found online. While many companies are only now engaging directly with tools like ChatGPT, Derrell pointed out that AI has long been embedded in everyday systems, from streaming platforms to search engines, often without users recognising it. The difference now is accessibility.

“This is an opportunity to work smarter, not harder,” he said.

At the core of this transition are what he outlined as the “3 Cs” of operating in the AI age: communicate, comply and control. Communication, in particular, is being redefined. Businesses are no longer just speaking to audiences; they are training systems that speak on their behalf.

“The way you should be looking to leverage this intelligence is as co-intelligence,” he explained. “Don’t just give it a one-sentence demand; you have to give it a persona.”

Framing AI as a collaborative tool rather than a replacement, he encouraged businesses to treat it as an extension of their teams capable of functioning as a public relations (PR) assistant, content creator or customer engagement tool. During the session, he demonstrated how structured prompts could be used to design event booths, draft follow-up e-mail and convert leads, highlighting the potential to reduce costs while maintaining output quality, particularly for firms without large marketing budgets. That effectiveness, however, depends heavily on input quality.

“As with anything, it’s garbage in, garbage out, which means you need to provide high-quality input to get back communication that matches your brand,” Derrell made clear.

The implications extend beyond content creation into how businesses structure their online presence. As search behaviour evolves, platforms like ChatGPT are no longer only directing users to websites but are increasingly providing direct answers alongside them, reducing the need for users to click through in some cases. This shift is forcing a rethink of website strategy. Static, text-heavy pages that function like digital brochures are becoming less effective in an environment where AI tools extract and summarise information instantly.

“As you think about how your website should be working for you, [ensure] that it does more than just tell people information, because then you’re going to see a big dip in your website traffic. You may ask, ‘What’s going on? Do fewer people love us?’ No, they’re just getting the answers more quickly without visiting the actual page,” said Derrell.

Instead, businesses are being encouraged to build content-rich, clearly structured digital footprints that AI systems can easily interpret and recommend. This includes maintaining active social media platforms, as AI tools increasingly assess not just websites but overall digital activity when determining credibility and relevance. Compliance forms another critical pillar, particularly around data privacy and protection, while control speaks to the need for oversight in how AI is deployed.

“You need to review the content and review what you’re putting in as well,” he stressed.

For companies seeking to get started, Derrell advised feeding internal materials like business plans, standard operating procedures, FAQs and past content into AI systems to ensure outputs align closely with brand voice and operations. The urgency of adoption was underscored by a broader industry warning from Ethan Mollick, which he referenced during the session: “Assume this is the worst AI you will ever use. The technology is only getting faster and cheaper. The penalty for waiting is irrelevance.”

Tools like ChatGPT are reshaping how consumers search, shifting discovery from traditional search engines to AI-driven answers.

DERRELL…this is an opportunity to work smarter, not harder.