African Small Businesses Face Limited Visibility in AI Search, According to Moroccan GEO Platform Mention.ma
Morocco, 24th Apr 2026 – The rapid adoption of AI-powered assistants is reshaping how consumers discover products and services. A growing share of global users now rely on tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini to identify solutions, compare providers, and make purchasing decisions. This shift is introducing new dynamics in digital visibility, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses in emerging markets.
A report published by Mention.ma, a Morocco-based Generative Engine Optimization platform, highlights a structural gap affecting African businesses within AI-generated answers. According to the findings, many small businesses across the continent are underrepresented in responses generated by large language models, regardless of the quality or competitiveness of their offerings.
The report attributes this trend primarily to the composition of training data used by AI systems. Large language models are built on datasets that are more heavily concentrated in Western markets. As a result, businesses operating in regions such as North and Sub-Saharan Africa are less frequently referenced or cited in AI-generated outputs.
“AI systems reflect the data they are trained on,” said Othmane El Ouarzazi the founder of Mention.ma. “When entire segments of the global economy are underrepresented in that data, it directly affects their visibility in AI-driven discovery.”
Language also plays a role. Businesses that publish content primarily in French or Arabic appear less frequently in AI-generated answers compared to those with a strong presence in English. This creates an additional layer of complexity for markets where multilingual communication is standard.
The emergence of Generative Engine Optimization, or GEO, reflects a broader transition in how visibility is managed online. While traditional search engine optimization focuses on improving rankings in search results, GEO addresses how businesses are represented within synthesized answers produced by AI assistants. In this context, being included as a cited or referenced entity becomes as important as ranking on a results page.
Mention.ma’s report notes that adoption of GEO practices among African small businesses remains limited. This is partly due to a lack of awareness and partly due to the technical complexity associated with adapting content for AI systems.
In response, Mention.ma has developed a platform designed to help businesses better understand and manage their presence across AI-driven environments. The platform provides visibility metrics across systems such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, along with tools to monitor citation frequency and analyze how brands are described. It also includes features aimed at improving data accessibility for AI crawlers and identifying inconsistencies in AI-generated information.
Alongside the platform, the company introduced an SMB AI Governance Charter, outlining four principles: visibility, accuracy, representation across languages, and the ability to review how AI systems interpret a business. The framework is intended to support smaller organizations that may not have dedicated technical or legal resources.
The report concludes that improving representation in AI systems is not only a regional issue. As AI becomes a primary interface for information retrieval, the completeness and diversity of training data and online presence will shape how markets are perceived globally. Ensuring balanced representation is therefore becoming an important consideration for businesses and policymakers alike.
About Mention.ma
Mention.ma is a Moroccan technology company focused on Generative Engine Optimization. The platform enables businesses to measure, monitor, and improve their visibility across AI. Read the full report at https://zenodo.org/records/19665413
Company Details
Organization: mention.ma
Contact Person: Othmane El Ouarzazi
Website: https://www.mention.ma/
Email: Send Email
Country: Morocco
Release Id: 24042644338