Scrape It 'Til You Make It

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are transforming how information is discovered and shared. With hundreds of millions now relying on these platforms for plain-language answers, the strategies for earning visibility have shifted. Organizations must now consider how AI models source and elevate content across the digital landscape.

Here are some guidelines to maximize visibility in the era of AI-powered search:

• Optimize owned media. Press releases and other owned content are still valuable, but must be tailored for AI. Early evidence suggests publishing multiple versions or using a Q&A-style format can increase the likelihood that chatbots surface your information accurately.

• Understand platform weighting. Reddit content is currently overrepresented in AI outputs due to its abundance of accessible, user-driven content. By contrast, many news organizations remain underrepresented as they continue negotiating licensing agreements with AI developers.

• Leverage YouTube for greater visibility. YouTube, especially for Google’s Gemini, is a powerful channel thanks to high-quality automated transcripts. When pitching podcasts or interviews, prioritize shows with a YouTube presence to enhance discoverability.

• Anticipate ongoing shifts. As more publishers formalize partnerships with AI companies, the data mix will evolve. Communicators who stay attuned to these changes will maintain an advantage as LLM ecosystems mature.

As delegates gathered to debate in Belém last week for COP30, Asia faced a far more tangible clash. Typhoon Kalmaegi, the deadliest storm of the year, has claimed nearly 200 lives across the Philippines and Vietnam, a grim signal that the region’s “new climate normal” is here: stronger, wetter storms fueled by record-high temperatures. 

Across Southeast Asia, climate impacts are accelerating faster than policy and finance can respond. The UN warns that without a dramatic scale-up in investment, the region could lose up to 11% of GDP annually by century’s end.

For many across the Global South, COP’s credibility is diminishing. Global pledges have repeatedly failed to translate into actual spending on infrastructure, resilience and livelihoods, while access to the pledged $300 billion per year in climate finance by 2035 remains opaque. While China dominates the clean energy race, most of Southeast Asia remains dependent on coal and their populations are vulnerable to increasingly extreme weather events. 

As the world’s focus shifts from mitigating climate change to adapting to it, COP30 must, at the very least, set out concrete metrics for such adaptation to remain relevant in Asia. And it must start to act — in the end, COP’s value to Asia will be proven not by the volume of its promises but by the velocity of its delivery. If Belém fails on both counts, it will cease to matter in a region that is already paying the price for failing climate diplomacy.

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AI-generated video content is rapidly reshaping digital platforms and blurring the boundaries of reality online. The recent launches of Meta’s Vibes and OpenAI’s Sora have introduced endlessly scrolling feeds of AI-generated short videos, closely resembling TikTok’s format but powered entirely by synthetic media. 

Sora’s standout feature allows users to insert their own faces into hyper-realistic AI clips called “cameos.” To address misuse concerns, OpenAI requires users to opt in to share their likeness, but applies an opt-out approach for copyright holders, prompting immediate debate over intellectual property and image rights.

The technology’s launch quickly sparked backlash after offensive, fabricated videos of public figures began circulating online, including disrespectful depictions of Martin Luther King Jr. OpenAI maintains that depictions of public figures involve free speech considerations and allows authorized representatives or estate owners to request removals. However, this approach leaves most individuals, especially those without representation, largely unprotected from image misuse. 

The normalization of deepfakes brings new risks to reputation and identity. As AI-generated content floods social feeds, the line between authenticity and fabrication is becoming increasingly difficult to discern. The rapid pace of innovation is outstripping the development of effective safeguards, raising urgent questions about reputation, identity protection and public trust as synthetic media becomes an established part of the online landscape.

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