Google no longer owns the gateway to public opinion. The next wave of influence is already here: AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and the upcoming Google Gemini. These tools do not simply search the web; they read it, digest it, and deliver confident, conversational answers. And increasingly, they are reading social media.
The question is no longer whether social content affects AI responses. The question for marketers is how deeply it does and what that means for brand strategy.
For years, social networks were treated as noisy side channels. But recent industry experiments, asking AI models everything from “What is the best coffee roaster in Dubai?” to “Which agency leads digital innovation in Saudi?”, reveal that these systems frequently pull from Facebook posts, Instagram captions, LinkedIn profiles, and even TikTok comments when shaping their answers. Traditional websites still dominate citations, but the direction of travel is clear. As more discussions, reviews, and visual content live only on these platforms, AI systems naturally turn to them for context. When a consumer asks an assistant for a recommendation tomorrow, the response may draw as much from a brand’s Instagram feed or a popular Facebook thread as from a corporate blog.
There are practical reasons for this shift. Photos, captions, and comments often mirror the way people phrase real questions, giving language models a natural context. Facebook and Instagram update by the minute, providing near real-time perspectives that static websites cannot match. And engagement signals likes, shares, replies act as a form of crowd validation that helps models gauge credibility. For large language models designed to provide the most relevant, human-sounding answer, these signals are hard to ignore.
If social chatter feeds the AI knowledge base, brands can no longer treat Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn purely as channels for engagement or paid campaigns. Every post, caption, and profile line becomes potential training data. This reality demands a different mindset. Company profiles on these platforms are no longer mere placeholders; they act like mini reference entries and must be accurate, descriptive, and regularly updated. Content that directly answers customer questions such as “How to choose the right fintech partner in the UAE” or “Best skincare for sensitive skin in Riyadh” is more likely to be quoted. Active participation in Facebook groups, Instagram comment threads, and regional discussions strengthens authority and provides the kind of consensus that AI models look for.
Social listening also takes on a new dimension. It is not only about crisis management or customer service, it is now a way to monitor and correct misinformation before it becomes part of an AI’s data stream. A single misleading post could be scraped and repeated by an AI assistant months later, long after the original conversation has faded.
For marketers across the GCC and wider MENA region, the stakes are even higher. Audiences here are mobile-first and social-heavy. The UAE and Saudi Arabia rank among the world’s top countries for daily social media usage. Government-backed digital agendas from Saudi’s Vision 2030 to the UAE’s National AI Strategy mean consumers in the region adopt new technology faster than many Western markets. This makes the region’s Arabic and English Facebook groups, Instagram reels, and LinkedIn discussions prime training material for global AI models. A lively Instagram debate about a Dubai restaurant or a trending Facebook post on Riyadh’s fintech boom can influence how an AI describes the Middle East to a worldwide audience.
Of course, with opportunity comes exposure. Once content is public, it may remain in AI datasets indefinitely even if deleted later. AI systems can misread sarcasm or amplify biased conversations, and negative or inaccurate posts can echo long after the original chatter fades. Marketers must balance visibility with caution, ensuring that what is discoverable reflects brand values and remains accurate over time.
To stay ahead, brands should publish authoritative long-form pieces on owned channels to anchor their narrative, invest in social listening tools to catch and correct misinformation early, and encourage employees and advocates to share accurate insights that broaden the pool of credible content. Coordinating messaging across regions and languages is especially important in MENA markets where Arabic, English, and local dialects intermingle.
Social media has moved from the sidelines to the source material of record. What people say about a brand on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, or TikTok can surface when someone asks an AI for advice. In other words, the social feed has become a data feed. Marketers who understand this shift and seed authentic, accurate narratives across the platforms where conversations happen will shape the answers tomorrow’s consumers receive. What is posted today may well become the AI response tomorrow.
