While Singapore’s corporate sector is moving faster on artificial intelligence (AI) than much of the world, a new PwC study suggests the country’s ambition to become an AI hub will depend less on enthusiasm and more on whether companies can fix the unglamorous foundations that turn AI spending into business results.

The headline numbers are strong. According to PwC’s Global AI Survey 2026, 67 per cent of Singapore businesses surveyed said they have a higher appetite for risk when investing in AI, compared with 41 per cent globally. Another 63 per cent said they allocate people and funding based on AI opportunities, above the global average of 51 per cent.

Also Read: AI hype, hard lessons: Where SEA’s startup capital is really going

That points to a market where artificial intelligence is no longer being treated as a side experiment. In many companies, it is increasingly influencing resource allocation, strategic planning, and competitive positioning.

The survey, conducted between July and September 2025, polled 1,217 senior executives worldwide. The Singapore sample was far smaller, comprising 30 respondents from publicly listed companies with annual revenue above US$100 million. Even so, the local figures reinforce the view that Singapore’s large enterprises are leaning into AI more aggressively than peers elsewhere.

Beyond pilots and buzzwords

One of the clearest signs of that shift is how Singapore companies are using AI to push beyond their traditional markets. The study found that 43 per cent of local respondents are deploying artificial intelligence to compete outside their sector, compared with 20 per cent globally.

That matters because it suggests AI is being used not just to optimise operations, but to reshape how companies think about growth. In practice, this could mean banks behaving more like software companies, manufacturers building data-driven services, or incumbents using AI to enter spaces that previously sat outside their core business.

Singapore also appears to be moving faster on the less visible infrastructure work that often determines whether AI projects scale or stall. Thirty per cent of respondents said their organisations have eliminated outdated IT infrastructure, versus 18 per cent globally.

Legacy systems rarely grab headlines, but they are one of the main reasons AI efforts remain trapped in pilot mode. Companies cannot scale advanced AI if their data is fragmented, their systems cannot integrate, or their infrastructure is too old to support modern workloads. On that front, Singapore seems ahead of the curve.

The study also suggests local businesses are pushing into more advanced AI deployments. Globally, 37 per cent of companies are still focused on relatively basic applications such as analysis, prediction and recommendation. In Singapore, that figure is just 20 per cent. Meanwhile, 17 per cent of Singapore respondents said they are using AI in autonomous or self-optimising ways, compared with 8 per cent globally.

That indicates a market that is beginning to move from AI as a support tool towards AI as an operating layer embedded in decision-making and workflows.

The gap with global AI leaders

Still, the bigger story lies in what happens when Singapore is compared not with the global average, but with the top 20 per cent of companies in PwC’s study, classified as “AI leaders”.

These firms are generating 7.2 times more AI-driven revenue and efficiency gains than peers on an industry-adjusted basis. They are also 2.5 times more likely to invest heavily, 2.4 times more likely to maintain reusable AI components across the organisation, and 1.7 times more likely to have high-quality data readily available for priority artificial intelligence applications.

In other words, the companies pulling ahead are not simply spending more. They are building stronger operating foundations, reusing what works, and aligning AI efforts with real business priorities.

Also Read: Kickstarting your AI journey: How to avoid the million-dollar mistakes most companies make

That is where Singapore’s weaknesses become clearer.

Only 53 per cent of Singapore businesses surveyed said they have robust, up-to-date security in place to protect data, AI models and infrastructure. Among AI leaders, that figure rises to 69 per cent. Just 47 per cent of Singapore respondents have a documented responsible AI framework, compared with 63 per cent of AI leaders, while only 43 per cent have a cross-functional AI governance board, versus 64 per cent among top performers.

The gaps extend to data. Just 37 per cent of Singapore firms said they maintain a single, trusted record of critical data, and 40 per cent said they use structured data effectively. Among AI leaders, those figures stand at 59 per cent and 60 per cent respectively.

Workflow redesign is another weak point. Only 37 per cent of Singapore companies said they had redesigned workflows to integrate AI rather than simply layering tools onto existing processes. Among AI leaders, 56 per cent had done so.

That shortfall is significant. AI rarely delivers meaningful gains by being bolted on top of old systems and ways of working. Its value tends to emerge when companies rethink processes from the ground up.

Policy support is growing, but companies still have to deliver

The findings arrive as Singapore steps up its national AI agenda. In 2025, IMDA and the AI Verify Foundation expanded efforts to build trust in generative AI through the Global AI Assurance Pilot. Budget 2026 added further momentum with a National AI Council, AI missions in advanced manufacturing, connectivity, finance and healthcare, as well as regulatory sandboxes and tax incentives.

That policy push strengthens Singapore’s position as a serious AI market. But it does not close the execution gap inside companies.

Anthony Dias, AI Hub Leader at PwC Singapore, said the best performers are distinguished not by the size of their spend, but by how deliberately they deploy artificial intelligence . “The companies achieving the highest AI-driven returns globally are distinguished not by how much they spend, but by how deliberately they operate: making targeted choices about where AI creates value, embedding it into core workflows, and scaling what works consistently across the enterprise.”

That is the central challenge for Singapore. The country has momentum, capital, regulatory support, and a business community that is more AI-forward than many global peers. But hub status will not be secured by ambition alone.

Also Read: AI is eating the world and startups are riding the infrastructure wave

For startups, enterprise vendors and investors in Southeast Asia, the message is straightforward: the biggest opportunities may lie less in AI hype and more in solving the enterprise basics — governance, trusted data, infrastructure modernisation and workflow redesign.

Singapore has shown it is serious about AI. The next test is whether its companies can turn that seriousness into repeatable business outcomes. Right now, the country looks like a strong contender for AI hub status — but not the finished product.

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The shift from SEO to AEO: Why AI visibility matters in 2026

The growing importance of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) in the Singapore marketing landscape has undergone a massive transformation. From 2024 to 2026, the industry sentiment toward AI-driven search has turned from initial doubts into absolute faith. As users increasingly rely on AI assistants to find information, brands realize that appearing in traditional search results is no longer enough; they must be visible within the generative responses that now dominate the digital discovery process.

The limitations of legacy SEO tools in the AI era

While SEO agencies often stick with legacy tools due to habitual behavior and established workflows, this loyalty is beginning to hurt both agencies and their clients. Household names like Ahrefs or SEMRUSH were built for a world of blue links, and their recent attempts to pivot often result in an incapability to track true AI visibility accurately. When combined with their increasingly insane pricing schemes, these traditional platforms are becoming a bottleneck for Singaporean brands aiming to master the new frontier of AI SEO.

Analyzing the top 3 AI visibility tools for Singapore

As the market matures, three platforms have emerged as the primary contenders for brands looking to monitor their presence in AI search. In this comprehensive comparison, we now analyse 3 popular AI visibility tool being used for AI SEO in Singapore: 

BuildSOM:

 Workduo.ai:

Semrush:

Each of these tools claims to offer insights into how AI models perceive and recommend your brand, but their execution, data depth, and regional support vary significantly for businesses operating in Southeast Asia.

Also read: Why traditional SEO is dying in Singapore — and how AISEO pioneers are winning the next Blue Ocean

Our testing methodology: A multi-region, multi-lingual brand case study

To provide a realistic comparison, we established a rigorous test case reflecting a typical Singaporean enterprise expansion. The test involves a brand holding three distinct domains. The goal is to promote the brand to English and Mandarin speakers in Singapore, as well as English, Cantonese, and Mandarin speakers in Hong Kong. We monitored four specific AI models: ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Google AIO, and Google AI Mode. The scope included 10 unique prompts per language per region, totaling 20 prompts for Singapore and 30 for Hong Kong.

Cost efficiency and monthly investment comparison

When evaluating the financial commitment required for these tools, we looked at the monthly cost based on an annual subscription. The pricing structures vary wildly, ranging from straightforward prompt-based billing to complex, multi-layered domain charges.

• BuildSOM: At USD229 per month for the Standard Plan, this covers the total 50 prompts needed for our test case. It offers a transparent, all-in-one pricing model that fits the multi-lingual requirements of the Singapore and HK markets.
• Workduo.ai: The Pro Plan is required at USD299 per month. This is necessary to accommodate the 200 daily AI responses generated by our test (4 AI models multiplied by the 50 total regional prompts).
• Semrush: This is the most expensive and complex option. Users must first pay USD139 for a Pro SEO plan. On top of that, Semrush charges per domain. For three domains in Singapore (3 Base plans) and three in Hong Kong (6 Base plans, as each covers only 25 prompts), the total balloons to USD1,030 per month.

AI response accuracy: Testing regional and linguistic nuance

The value of an AI SEO tool lies in its ability to replicate the actual user experience. If a tool cannot simulate a local user in Singapore or Hong Kong, the data it provides is functionally useless for optimization.

• BuildSOM: This tool excels by running non-English prompts on the corresponding language settings. For example, it runs Mandarin prompts on a Simplified Chinese device environment and Cantonese on Traditional Chinese settings. The results collected are identical to what a human buyer would see.
• Workduo.ai: Fails to account for local device settings. It runs non-English prompts on an English-configured device environment, leading to misleading results that do not reflect the actual local AI output.
• Semrush: Similar to Workduo, it relies on English device configurations for non-English queries. This lack of linguistic localization renders the data useless for brands targeting the Mandarin or Cantonese-speaking demographics in Singapore and HK.

AI model coverage: Which engines are being monitored?

A strong visibility tool should cover various AI models. This includes Western models and emerging models like DeepSeek.

• BuildSOM: The Standard Plan includes ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AIO, Google AI Mode, DeepSeek, and Perplexity. This exceeds the requirements of the test case.
• Workduo.ai: The Starter Plan mentions ChatGPT and Google AIO. The Pro Plan does not explicitly name the five supported models. Users may not know which models are supported until after purchase.
• Semrush: This tool supports ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini, and Perplexity. It lacks support for Google AI Mode and DeepSeek.

Historical data and period coverage

Tracking performance trends is crucial for long-term AI SEO strategies. The period of historical data each tool provides was compared.

• BuildSOM: Users can analyze AI responses at a daily level for up to 360 days.
• Workduo.ai: Analysis is limited to the last 30 days of data, which is insufficient for long-term SEO campaigns.
• Semrush: Detailed AI responses can be tracked for up to 60 days. This is better than Workduo, but less than BuildSOM.

Final verdict: Comparing the top 3 AI visibility tools

The best tool depends on the need for accuracy and the range of AI models you want to influence. Specialized tools provide deeper insights into generative search, especially for the multi-lingual Singapore market.

Choosing the best fit for your brand

Each AI Visibility tool has its own focus. Users should evaluate these platforms based on their needs. Factors include target regions, languages, number of domains, and the specific AI models.

Why we write this article

PRbyAI aims to share updated market news using our team’s tech knowledge, helping B2B customers make informed decisions.

About PRbyAI

PRbyAI is a tech-driven Martech startup leveraging cutting-edge AISEO to help customers generate leads and tap into new markets.

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The post Compare popular AI visibility tools for AI SEO in Singapore | 2026 guide appeared first on e27.

Southeast Asia’s startup ecosystem continues to mature rapidly, with founders increasingly building companies that operate across multiple markets and time zones from day one. As businesses scale across borders, access to global talent has become a key advantage, allowing companies to build distributed teams that bring together specialised skills from different parts of the world. However, hiring internationally often introduces complex challenges, from navigating local employment laws and payroll systems to managing tax requirements and benefits across multiple jurisdictions.

To successfully build a global workforce, companies need solutions that simplify global hiring while ensuring compliance with local regulations. This need is particularly relevant for startups and scaling businesses that want to access international talent without creating operational complexity. Remote addresses these challenges by providing a platform that enables companies to find, hire, manage, and pay employees anywhere in the world while remaining compliant with local employment laws.

Meeting Remote at Echelon Singapore 2026 offers founders, HR leaders, and operators an opportunity to understand how global hiring can be managed more smoothly and compliantly. Whether building distributed teams across Southeast Asia or hiring specialised talent globally, understanding how to navigate international employment regulations and workforce management across borders can help organisations scale with greater flexibility and confidence.

Enabling global teams through compliant hiring

Remote is a global HR platform designed to support international hiring and workforce management. Its platform brings together key functions such as global payroll, international hiring, benefits administration, and compliance management into a single system that helps organisations manage distributed teams more efficiently.

The company’s mission is built around a simple principle: great talent exists everywhere, and companies should be able to work with the best people regardless of location. By removing barriers associated with international employment, Remote enables businesses to expand their talent pool and hire across borders with greater confidence.

This approach is particularly relevant for startups and scaling companies in Southeast Asia and the wider Asia Pacific region. As businesses in markets such as Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines continue to expand internationally, the ability to build distributed teams can play a key role in expanding into new markets, accessing specialised skills and supporting rapid growth.

Remote’s platform provides organisations with tools to manage employment contracts, payroll processing, tax requirements, and employee benefits in different jurisdictions. This integrated approach helps companies maintain compliance with local regulations while reducing the operational complexity associated with managing global teams.

Meet Remote at Echelon Singapore 2026

Remote joins Echelon Singapore 2026 as the Preferred Remote Hiring Partner, alongside founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem leaders gathering at Suntec Singapore CEC on 3–4 June 2026. The event brings together Southeast Asia’s startup and technology community through content stages, exhibitions, networking opportunities, and knowledge sharing sessions designed to support regional innovation and growth.

Attendees can connect with the Remote team during the exhibition to learn more about building distributed teams and managing international hiring across the Asia Pacific region. For startups and SMEs navigating talent shortages or looking to expand internationally, conversations around compliant global hiring and workforce management are becoming increasingly important. Platforms like Remote play a role in enabling organisations to access talent beyond geographic boundaries while maintaining operational clarity and regulatory compliance.

As Southeast Asia’s technology ecosystem continues to evolve, access to global talent will likely remain a key factor in how companies scale and compete internationally. Events such as Echelon Singapore provide a space for founders, operators, and technology partners to exchange ideas and explore tools that can support the next phase of regional growth.

The region is evolving quickly, and Echelon 2026 offers the right place at the right moment to be part of what comes next. Register here to join the conversation.

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Local fractional marketing agency OtterHalf has launched Ottie’s Splash & Sell Marketing Workshop, a hands-on workshop where kids learn the basics of marketing through play. Designed for children aged 7–12, the workshop brings marketing concepts to life through play. Kids will learn how brands attract attention, design their own eye-catching posters, and perform a confident sales pitch in a fun, supportive environment.

Hands-on learning through real-world marketing and play

Held in OtterHalf’s studio at 195 Pearl’s Hill Terrace, the workshop introduces participants to basic marketing concepts using real-world examples such as KPOP Demon Hunters and Labubu. Participants also play OtterHalf’s original card game, Ottie’s Fishy Business, which subtly introduces common marketing tactics such as influencers and word of mouth.

Each workshop includes:

• Real-world discussions of trending brands, shows, and toys
• Group play time using OtterHalf’s marketing-themed card game, Ottie’s Fishy Business
• A poster competition, where participants pitch to each other and canvass for votes

Building confidence and communication skills in the next generation

OtterHalf founder Cassandra Ong believes marketing and communication are important skills for the next generation.

Parents have praised the format for encouraging communication and creativity, while educators see it as a refreshing alternative to traditional business education.

From card game success to real-world marketing lessons

Ottie’s Fishy Business achieved breakout success using only organic marketing and word-of-mouth, selling over 100 units within 3 months and reaching more than 300 households across Singapore.

The game introduces marketing concepts such as branding and storytelling, influencer marketing, competitive tactics, business ethics, and campaign planning.

Expanding the programme with future workshops and experiences

Looking ahead, OtterHalf plans to expand with additional workshops including a sales workshop and a supervised virtual mall experience.

All participants receive a certificate and earn the title “Mini Marketer”.

About OtterHalf

OtterHalf is an award-winning fractional marketing agency based in Singapore, helping businesses unlock senior-level marketing strategy and execution without the full-time cost.

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In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, the traditional boundaries of search engine optimization are expanding. For years, businesses focused almost exclusively on keyword rankings and backlink profiles. However, as generative AI becomes a primary interface for information gathering, a new discipline has emerged: Brand Mention Tracking within the context of artificial intelligence. This practice involves monitoring how often and in what context a brand is cited by Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI-driven search engines.

What is brand mention tracking?

Brand mention tracking is the process of monitoring online conversations, citations, and references to a specific company or product across the digital ecosystem. Traditionally, this meant tracking social media, news outlets, and blogs. Today, the scope has broadened to include “AI Visibility.” This refers to how prominently a brand appears when users query AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or DeepSeek.

For modern enterprises, tracking these mentions is no longer just about reputation management; it is about data-driven SEO. It requires understanding the sentiment and frequency of brand citations within the datasets that train and inform AI. By analyzing these patterns, businesses can identify whether they are perceived as industry leaders or if they are being overlooked by the algorithms that currently guide consumer decisions.

Why brand mention tracking is essential for SEO and GEO in Singapore

For startups and established firms in Singapore, the shift toward Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is particularly significant. Singapore serves as a hyper-competitive global hub where consumers are highly tech-savvy and quick to adopt AI assistants for local service recommendations, financial advice, and product research.

In this environment, Brand Mention Tracking serves as the backbone of a successful SEO and GEO strategy. If an AI tool does not “mention” your brand when a user asks for the “best fintech solution in Singapore,” you effectively do not exist in that user’s journey. High visibility in AI responses establishes authority and trust—two pillars of the EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) framework that search engines now prioritize. Furthermore, because Singapore is a multicultural gateway, tracking mentions across different linguistic and cultural contexts is vital for capturing the full breadth of the market.

Also read: What the top 10 time attendance systems in Singapore tell us about workforce management in 2025

Why BuildSOM is the leading SEO tool for GEO targeting Singapore

When evaluating the best SEO tool for GEO targeting Singapore, BuildSOM has gained significant traction among marketing experts for its specialized approach to AI visibility. Unlike legacy tools that often treat AI as a secondary feature, BuildSOM is built specifically to bridge the gap between traditional search and the new era of LLMs.

Key advantages of utilizing BuildSOM for your visibility strategy include:

• Native Non-English Monitoring: It is the only global tool offering native non-English AI visibility monitoring. This is crucial for Singapore’s diverse market, as it monitors responses in Malay, Chinese, and other languages through native environments rather than simple translation.
• Realistic Consumer Simulation: Instead of relying solely on LLM APIs, BuildSOM captures results through the actual browser UI, simulating a true consumer journey for more reliable data.
• Broadest LLM Coverage: It provides extensive coverage across various platforms, including DeepSeek and Doubao, which are essential for reaching the non-English speaking and regional communities.
• Dual-Market Insights: It is uniquely positioned to provide AI visibility data both inside and outside of China, a critical feature for Singaporean exporters and retailers.
• Cost-Efficiency: The brand-based fee scheme makes it significantly more affordable than legacy SEO tools, often costing only 10-30% of traditional alternatives.
• Practical Dashboard: The interface is designed for “prompt gap analysis,” allowing marketers to spot “missed AI opportunities” through a comprehensive birdview matrix.
• Accessibility: Startups can begin with a free account without any credit card commitment, allowing for immediate exploration of AI response monitoring.

Explore more useful tools for GEO:

1. BuzzSumo: Excellent for identifying trending topics and influential mentions across social platforms to inform content strategy.
2. Semrush: A comprehensive suite for traditional keyword research and competitive analysis that complements AI visibility data.
3. AnswerThePublic: A tool that visualizes search questions and suggested images, helping creators understand the specific queries fueling AI responses.

Also read: Costing comparison of top 7 popular ERP software for food manufacturing in Singapore

How to utilize an AI visibility report (AVR) to improve brand mention tracking

An AI Visibility Report (AVR) is a diagnostic tool for any SEO professional. To improve brand mention tracking, you must first analyze the “Prompt Gap.” This involves identifying the specific queries where competitors are mentioned by AI, but your brand is not.

By reviewing an AVR, you can determine the specific sentiment associated with your brand. If the AI recognizes your brand but provides outdated information, you can adjust your PR and content distribution to ensure fresher data is available for AI crawlers. Additionally, the AVR helps in “Cross-Cultural Surveillance,” ensuring that your brand’s authority remains consistent across different languages and regional LLMs. Using these reports allows you to move from reactive monitoring to proactive optimization, ensuring your brand is the “top of mind” choice for AI engines.

The competitive risk for Singapore startups

For Singaporean startup founders, the window to claim “AI Real Estate” is closing. As LLMs become more entrenched in the daily lives of consumers, those who fail to establish their AI visibility now risk being permanently excluded from the digital conversation. Waiting to build an AI Visibility Report is no longer an option; it is a delay that allows competitors to define the narrative of your industry.

The cost of inaction is high, yet the barrier to entry is low. You can set up a free account today with no credit card commitment. Exploring how an AI Visibility Report works will provide you with the raw data needed to protect your brand and dominate the future of search. Don’t let your brand become a ghost in the machine—start tracking your AI presence today.

Why we write this article

PRbyAI aims to share updated market news using our team’s tech knowledge, helping B2B customers make informed decisions.

About PRbyAI

PRbyAI is a tech-driven Martech startup leveraging cutting-edge AISEO to help customers generate leads and tap into new markets.

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This article was shared with us by PRbyAI

We can share your story at e27 too! Engage the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem by bringing your story to the world. You can reach out to us here to get started.

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