What story is AI telling about your Place?

How to measure, manage and improve your destination’s AI Brand™

Summary

AI search and summary engines are already deciding how places are seen, discovered and described. Your AI Brand™ is the version of your place that AI understands and shares with the world, and it might not match your intended brand. In this article, we explain what an AI Brand is, why it matters, and how Bird Global Advisory’s AI Brand Tracker and AI Discoverability Tools can help organisations, destinations and governments take control of their digital story.

1. What is an AI Brand™?

Your AI Brand™ is the story that artificial intelligence tells about your place when someone asks a question like:

• “Where’s the best region to start a cleantech company?”

• “Where to go on a family holiday in October?”

• “What’s the safest country to invest in 2025?”

• “What is the best country for healthcare jobs?”

• “Which is better for a short break, Norfolk or Cornwall?”

Search engines have become answer engines. AI responds directly, combining thousands of data points into a single, confident response. That response is your brand in the AI era.

2. Why AI is your new gatekeeper

Traditional SEO helped destinations appear in search results. Now AI doesn’t list, it selects. Over 60% of Google searches now end without a click (Search Engine Land). Your audience no longer needs to dig deeper when they’re being fed answers directly. Your visibility depends on whether AI recognises you as credible, relevant and answer-ready.

3. Your intended brand vs your AI Brand

Every destination has an intended brand, what you want to be known for. But your AI Brand™ is what algorithms already believe about you. Our initial explorations show that there’s often less than 50% alignment between the two. That means your carefully defined story may not be the one the world actually sees. So when you’re putting out an RFP for a beautiful new brand or working to change perceptions around an old one, think about how that hard work will have a platform in an AI world.

4. How to track and improve your AI Brand

The AI Brand™ Tracker

A regular audit of your AI performance that measures:

• AI Desirability: how appealing your story is to AI engines

• Visibility: where and how you appear in AI summaries

• Category Drivers: how your AI Brand compares with peers

You’ll track how your brand is performing and where you can sharpen your advantage.

The AI Discoverability Tool

Most places and brands are discovered during unbranded category searches, when audiences ask open questions like “best places for green jobs” or “cities leading in biotech.”

Do you surface in those AI overviews?

Our diagnostic identifies how to strengthen your signals at these key moments. We analyse your content against the questions your audiences are asking to make your pages more answer-ready, increasing the likelihood that AI engines surface your place in results.

Your AI Brand

Understand what your AI Brand is, how it compares to your intended brand, and what is driving that story - so we can start to recalibrate and shape it.

5. FAQs

Why is AI discoverability different from SEO?

SEO focuses on ranking in search results. AI discoverability focuses on being chosen as the answer.

How often should I measure my AI Brand™?

Quarterly or twice-yearly gives a realistic picture of change, particularly as AI algorithms evolve.

Can smaller destinations compete?

Yes. AI rewards quality, relevance and authority over scale. Smaller destinations with clear, human, answer-ready content can outperform bigger ones. It's the moment for bigger places to protect their position and for smaller places to punch above their weight and gain an unfair advantage.

6. Key takeaways

• AI is now shaping brand perception before visitors, investors or talent reach your website.

• Your AI Brand™ may differ dramatically from your intended brand.

• Tracking and optimising your AI Discoverability ensures your place appears in the right conversations.

• The future of destination marketing is all about being discovered

  
  

Discover. Recalibrate. Lead.

Bird Global Advisory helps brands, organisations, destinations and governments close the gap between their intended brand and their AI Brand™. Through advanced analysis and human insight, we reveal how you’re perceived today and how to make that perception work harder for tomorrow.

👉 Benchmark your AI visibility today