At a recent Knowledge Series organised by the MSME DFO Goa in collaboration with Laghu Udyog Bharati (LUB) Goa, a thought-provoking session on ‘Digital Marketing and AI’ shed light on how small and micro businesses can leverage technology to stay competitive. For Goan entrepreneurs—especially those in food processing, tourism, and creative industries—understanding these emerging tools can make the crucial difference between being ‘found’ and being ‘forgotten’ in the digital marketplace.
Ashwini Ramesh, a faculty member at GIMS, explained how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is redefining digital marketing for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). Traditionally, businesses focused on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) — ranking higher on Google through backlinks, keywords, and website traffic. Today, the new game-changer is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), which aims to get a brand mentioned and recommended by AI platforms like Google’s AI Overview, ChatGPT, Gemini, and others.
While SEO relies on keyword-based searches (best bakeries in Goa), GEO depends on conversational prompts (which local bakery in Goa offers healthy snacks). This shift means MSEs now need to create content that AI can easily interpret—structured Q&A sections, expert quotes, short videos, and FAQ-style snippets that directly answer user questions. AI doesn’t just look at links; it analyses how often your brand is mentioned across trusted sources and social interactions. As Ramesh puts it, “If your business gets cited or tagged more frequently, it becomes AI-endorsed!”
In this new paradigm, the metric of success is no longer just website traffic, but ‘Share of Voice’—how often your brand appears across AI search summaries. Whether it’s on ChatGPT, Gemini, or Google’s AI overview, the more your brand is mentioned, the stronger it’s perceived authority.
To achieve this, Ramesh outlined the E-E-A-T Framework used by Google: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. These four pillars define how search engines and AI systems evaluate credibility. Experience: Does your content come from first-hand engagement with the subject? (For example, a Goan food entrepreneur sharing real kitchen stories). Expertise: Are you or your authors skilled in your field? Is your knowledge visible through consistent, quality posts? Authoritativeness: Are you cited or reviewed by reputed brands or institutions, like TripAdvisor for tourism or Airbnb for homestays? Trust: Do you have clear contact details, ethical content, and a traceable local presence? If someone with no real connection to Goa rates you highly, Google flags it as unreliable.
These parameters are especially important for Goan MSEs because trust and authenticity form the foundation of our local brand identity. Whether it’s a Bicholim pottery unit, a Mapusa spice business, or a small Panaji café, projecting genuine local experience is now as critical as good packaging or service.
The speaker also broke down how AI-driven marketing aligns with the customer journey through three stages—Awareness, Consideration, and Decision. Awareness: Customers ask broad questions (Where can I buy organic local snacks in Goa?). This is where FAQs, blogs, and videos help. Consideration: They compare options—best, top-rated, most reliable. Having reviews, testimonials, and short explainer reels by experts or influencers is the key. Decision: The final stage—pricing, discounts, and credibility—where trust built through authentic engagement converts curiosity into purchase.
The speaker encouraged MSEs to start listening to their customers. Study how people talk about your brand on sales calls, review comments on social media or WhatsApp, or chatbot conversations. Identify recurring phrases and use them as prompts for your AI-driven content. In the context of international and domestic marketing, GEO strategies differ across regions. For exports, cultural nuances, language translation, and conversational tone are vital. For example, how an Italian customer casually interacts online differs from a German buyer’s formal style. For domestic sales, vernacular language translations also help.
The session concluded with an optimistic note for Goa’s MSE sector. While digital tools and AI systems may sound complex, early adopters stand to benefit the most and being the first to adapt gives you the mover advantage. In a small yet dynamic economy like Goa, where traditional craftsmanship meets new-age innovation, leveraging Generative AI can help local entrepreneurs scale beyond State borders. Goa’s small businesses can now use technology not just to market products, but to tell authentic, data-backed stories that the world (and AI) can understand, amplify, and trust.
(The writer is a CA and an entrepreneur, Laghu Udyog Bharati - Goa State President and a member of the GCCI Managing Committee)
