A Perspective Shaped by Five Years in Education
Over the past five years, education has become one of our most valuable sectors at Saigon Digital.
We've had the privilege of working alongside international schools, education providers, and EdTech organisations across Vietnam and internationally, helping them solve challenges that go far beyond marketing. Our work has ranged from building custom digital platforms and student-facing applications, to driving enrolment growth, improving digital experiences, implementing SEO strategies, and advising leadership teams on digital transformation.
Through these partnerships, we've gained a unique perspective on the education landscape. We've seen firsthand how schools compete for enrolments, how parents evaluate educational choices, how admissions teams operate, and how digital channels influence decision-making throughout the student journey.
Being based in Ho Chi Minh City has also allowed us to stay closely connected to the local education community. We've spent years speaking with school leaders, admissions directors, marketers, and founders, gaining a deep understanding of both the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.
We've also had the opportunity to work with some of the region's leading international education institutions, including the British International School Ho Chi Minh City, part of the Nord Anglia Education group, alongside a number of highly regarded independent and boutique international schools. These partnerships have given us valuable insight into how world-class educational organisations think about growth, technology, parent engagement, and long-term brand positioning.
One thing has become increasingly clear.
The way parents discover, research, and choose schools is changing faster than most institutions realise.
For the last two decades, schools have focused heavily on search engines, websites, rankings, and digital advertising. Those channels remain important, but a new layer of discovery is emerging. Parents are increasingly turning to AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity to help them evaluate options, compare schools, and answer complex questions.
This shift represents more than another marketing trend.
It signals a fundamental change in how trust is built, how information is consumed, and ultimately how educational institutions are discovered.
The organisations that understand this shift early will be positioned to lead. Those that ignore it risk becoming increasingly invisible in a world where AI is becoming the first place people go for answers.
The question is no longer whether AI will influence enrolment marketing.
The question is how quickly educational institutions will adapt.
Executive Summary
For the past 20 years, digital marketing has been dominated by a simple principle:
People search. Brands rank. Users click.
That model is rapidly changing.
Today, millions of people are no longer searching Google first. They are asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity for answers.
Instead of receiving ten blue links, they receive a recommendation.
This shift represents one of the most significant changes to digital discovery since Google disrupted directories in the early 2000s.
For international schools, universities, EdTech companies, training providers, and education brands, the implications are profound.
The question is no longer:
"How do we rank on Google?"
The question is becoming:
"How do we become the answer AI recommends?"
OpenAI's Advertising Launch Signals a New Era
In 2026, OpenAI officially announced the rollout of advertising within ChatGPT's Free and Go plans. Importantly, OpenAI has stated that ads will remain separate from answers and will not influence responses. The company has also confirmed that conversations are not shared with advertisers.
While the advertising announcement itself is significant, the bigger story is what it reveals about user behaviour.
OpenAI is building an advertising ecosystem because ChatGPT is increasingly becoming a discovery platform.
Historically, a parent might have searched:
- Best international schools in Vietnam
- British curriculum schools in Ho Chi Minh City
- IB schools near me
Now that same parent can ask:
"We're relocating from Singapore. My daughter is 10 years old, shy, academically strong, and interested in science. Which schools should we shortlist in Ho Chi Minh City?"
That is not a keyword.
That is a conversation.
And conversations contain significantly richer intent signals than search queries ever did.
For education marketers, this means future lead generation will increasingly depend on being discoverable inside AI conversations rather than only appearing in search results.
Search Is Becoming Answer-Based
Google itself is moving in the same direction.
AI Overviews now reach billions of users globally and increasingly provide direct answers before users ever click a website. Research published in 2026 found AI Overviews appear in approximately 65% of question-based searches, demonstrating how rapidly answer-first search is expanding.
This creates a fundamental shift:
Old Search Model
Search → Click → Website → Conversion
New AI Model
Question → Answer → Recommendation → Conversion
The website is no longer guaranteed to be part of the journey.
For many informational searches, AI systems are increasingly satisfying the user's need directly.
The reality is that users are beginning to outsource research to AI.
Instead of reviewing ten websites, reading multiple articles, and comparing options themselves, they are increasingly asking AI to perform that analysis for them.
For schools, this means visibility alone is no longer enough.
You need to be recommended.
Traffic Is Becoming Harder to Earn
A growing body of evidence suggests AI-generated answers are reducing traditional organic traffic.
Several recent studies have demonstrated that AI-generated summaries can significantly reduce click-through rates to publisher websites because users often receive the information they need directly within the AI interface.
For schools and education providers, this means:
- Fewer clicks from informational searches
- More competition for high-intent traffic
- Greater importance of brand authority
- Increased value of being cited by AI systems
The winners may not necessarily be the brands with the most traffic.
The winners will be the brands most frequently recommended.
This represents an important mindset shift.
Historically, marketing teams celebrated rankings.
In the future, they may celebrate citations.
Welcome to GEO: Generative Engine Optimization
A new discipline is emerging:
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
Just as SEO focused on helping websites rank in search engines, GEO focuses on helping brands become visible and cited within AI-generated answers.
Recent research examining ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews found that content structure, evidence quality, clarity, and semantic relevance significantly influence whether content is cited and incorporated into AI-generated responses.
This has major implications for education brands.
Traditional SEO often focused on:
- Keywords
- Metadata
- Backlinks
- Rankings
GEO introduces additional requirements:
- Clear expertise
- Structured content
- Trust signals
- Evidence-backed information
- Consistent brand messaging
- Third-party validation
- Brand authority
- Thought leadership
In many ways, GEO rewards genuine authority more than traditional SEO ever did.
Schools that have invested in expertise, credibility, and educational outcomes may find themselves particularly well positioned.
Why Schools Have a Unique Opportunity
Most international schools still have relatively shallow digital ecosystems.
A typical school website includes:
- About Us
- Admissions
- Curriculum
- Facilities
- Contact
From an AI perspective, this is insufficient.
Parents have hundreds of questions during their decision-making process.
Examples include:
- British Curriculum vs IB
- How difficult is the transition into an international school?
- What support exists for ESL students?
- Which curriculum best prepares students for university?
- How does wellbeing impact academic performance?
- What should expatriate families consider before relocating?
- How much homework should children receive?
- What is the ideal student-to-teacher ratio?
- How do schools support neurodiverse learners?
The schools that create comprehensive content around these questions provide AI systems with significantly more evidence to cite and recommend.
This is where many institutions have an enormous opportunity.
Rather than viewing content purely as a marketing tool, schools should begin viewing content as a knowledge asset.
Every valuable question answered today becomes another opportunity to be discovered tomorrow.
Reputation Is Becoming a Ranking Factor Everywhere
One of the most important shifts is that AI systems do not only analyse your website.
They increasingly evaluate signals from across the internet:
- Reviews
- News coverage
- Social media
- Industry publications
- Community discussions
- Expert citations
- Third-party mentions
- Public thought leadership
This means marketing can no longer operate in silos.
SEO, PR, content marketing, social media, leadership branding, reputation management, and community engagement are increasingly becoming part of the same visibility system.
When a parent asks:
AI systems may evaluate information from dozens of sources before generating an answer.
Your website is only one of those sources.
This is why reputation is becoming one of the most important strategic assets a school can build.
The Rise of Authority-Led Marketing
Historically, many schools competed on facilities.
Swimming pools.
Science labs.
Campus photography.
Building size.
While these remain important, AI systems are increasingly rewarding demonstrated expertise.
The schools that win visibility in an AI-first world will often be those that actively educate their audience.
Examples include:
- Publishing educational research
- Sharing admissions expertise
- Producing parent guides
- Creating thought leadership content
- Speaking at industry events
- Contributing to educational discussions
- Building meaningful community engagement
In short, authority becomes discoverability.
The more evidence available online that demonstrates expertise, the more likely AI systems are to trust and recommend your institution.
The Strategic Shift Education Leaders Need to Make
Historically, school marketing teams focused on:
- Website traffic
- Rankings
- Paid leads
- Open day registrations
These metrics still matter.
But they are no longer sufficient.
Forward-thinking institutions should begin tracking:
- AI citations
- AI referral traffic
- AI brand mentions
- Share of voice within AI systems
- Third-party authority signals
- Expert content production
- Digital PR performance
- Brand sentiment
The objective is not simply to rank.
The objective is to become trusted enough that AI systems confidently recommend your institution.
What This Means for School Boards and CEOs
Many leadership teams still view AI primarily through the lens of operational efficiency.
How can it help teachers?
How can it improve administration?
How can it reduce costs?
These are important questions.
However, there is another strategic question that deserves equal attention:
How will AI influence enrolment growth?
For many prospective families, AI is rapidly becoming the first advisor in the decision-making process.
Before they contact admissions.
Before they attend an open day.
Before they visit a website.
They may already have formed a shortlist based on recommendations generated by AI.
That means visibility in AI systems is becoming a board-level strategic issue, not simply a marketing initiative.
What This Means for Saigon Digital Clients
We believe the future belongs to organisations that combine:
- Strong SEO foundations
- GEO optimisation
- Authority-building content
- Digital PR
- Technical excellence
- Brand credibility
- Thought leadership
- Exceptional user experience
SEO is not dying.
SEO is evolving.
Google remains one of the largest traffic channels on the internet and will continue to be essential.
However, the next decade will likely be defined by brands that successfully optimise for both search engines and AI engines.
The schools, universities, and education companies that begin building authority today will be best positioned to capture demand tomorrow.
The key question every CEO, Head of School, and Board Member should be asking is:
The institutions that can answer that question clearly will have a significant competitive advantage in the AI-first era.
Because in the coming years, being found will no longer be enough.
Being recommended will be what matters most.
Want to see how your school or education brand shows up inside AI answers? Explore our AI Search Optimisation service, learn more about our SEO services, or get in touch with our team to start the conversation.
