At the launch of the 24th Singapore Prestige Brand Award (SPBA) on 21 July 2026, SMU Professor of Marketing (Practice) and Associate Dean (Impact) of the Lee Kong Chian School of Business Sabine Benoit, said the growing use of AI search is changing how consumers make decisions, and businesses should focus on Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) so their content is more likely to be cited and recommended by AI tools. Prof Benoit noted that AI agents place greater weight on third-party content than brand self-promotion, making brand awards a strong signal of external credibility.
