Not necessarily. Purchasers, shops and engineers in Taiwan often know the brand first, then ask ChatGPT, Gemini or Google where to buy it in Taiwan or who the Taiwan distributor is. The AI's answer may be you, or it may be another trading company, the brand's overseas website or information that is years old. To know whether you show up, check several AI platforms at once using the Taiwan market, Chinese questions and the way buyers really ask. Then look at three things: whether you're mentioned, who AI mentions instead, and which sites AI based its answer on.
1. How Taiwanese buyers ask
Buyers of imported products rarely start from zero. They already know the brand or model and want to find who sells it in Taiwan, who can quote and who handles after-sales support. So their questions often include a brand name, a model number or a use. Sort the questions buyers ask into a few types and write three or four for each, and you have a fixed question set to measure with.
| Question type | Example | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Naming a brand | Who distributes this German brand's sensors in Taiwan | Whether AI names you, and whether the details are right |
| Naming a model | Where to buy replacement parts for a specific model in Taiwan | Whether AI links to your product page |
| Describing a use only | Which brands and distributors in Taiwan sell conveyor belts for food factories | Whether the brands you represent are mentioned, and whether AI links them to you |
| Comparing distributors | Which lab consumables distributors in Taiwan offer better after-sales support | Which companies AI puts you alongside |
Use the words buyers actually use. Engineers may type a model number; shop owners may only describe the use. Have your sales team check the questions and rewrite them the way customers talk. And don't put your company name in the question, or AI is just answering from the clue you gave it.
2. Brand-name questions go wrong more often than you'd think
Questions that name a brand look simple but often go wrong. Three things commonly happen: AI names a different company as the distributor; AI sends buyers to the brand's overseas website without saying who sells it in Taiwan; or AI quotes old information about a distributor that has since changed or a product that has been discontinued. In all three cases, buyers may never reach you. The usual cause is that information online about who sells the brand in Taiwan is too thin, too old or contradictory.
To improve this, first check whether a few places agree: whether your website has a page for the brand; whether the distributor list on the brand's official website includes you with correct contact details; and whether your company profiles on B2B platforms and industry directories mention the brand. You can't edit the brand's official website yourself; if the details there are wrong, put together the correct information and ask the brand owner to update it.
3. Check the Taiwan market with a Traditional Chinese report
The full check in GEO by TriloAI offers 6 markets: Taiwan, the US, Japan, Korea, China and Global. Buyers of imported products are in Taiwan, so choose the Taiwan market, use Chinese questions and get a Traditional Chinese report. Each check runs up to 15 questions across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Claude at once. If you also export, check the export side separately in the buyers' market with English or Japanese questions; looking at the two separately is clearer.
4. Four things to read in the report
| What to look at | How to read it | What you might see |
|---|---|---|
| How often you're mentioned | In how many of the 15 questions AI mentions you, and on which platforms | You appear in brand-name questions but not in use-only questions |
| Who you lose to | Which distributors or channels AI mentions | Their websites have brand pages and product specs, while yours has one company profile page |
| Which sites AI relies on | B2B platforms, industry directories, brands' official websites, industry articles | Your profile on a directory is still a version from years ago |
| The three things to do first | The report sets this month's priorities | For example, add brand pages, update platform profiles, ask the brand owner to update its distributor list |
Use-only questions deserve special attention. When buyers haven't chosen a brand yet, the brands and distributors AI recommends shape who they end up asking for a quote. If the brands you represent don't appear in these questions, that's where your website and product pages need work.
5. A first check you can do yourself
For a rough first look, use the free quick scan in GEO by TriloAI: enter your website URL, no sign-up, about 1–2 minutes. It checks ChatGPT only and shows whether AI can read your site. You can also ask a few questions yourself, but remember three things: ask the same question again a few days later to see whether the answer holds; don't put your company name in the question; and ask while logged out or in a private window so your own chat history doesn't sway the answer.
The short version
Whether you show up when Taiwanese buyers ask AI who distributes a brand comes down to checking with the Taiwan market and the way buyers ask, then filling in and aligning the details on your website, platforms and the brand's official website.
Frequently asked questions
- We represent many brands. Do we need to check every one?
- Start with the brands that bring a large share of revenue or get asked about often. Each check runs up to 15 questions, which can be split across your main brands; switch to other brands later.
- The distributor details on the brand's official website are wrong. What can we do?
- You can't edit the brand's website yourself. Put together your correct company name, address, contact details and the product lines you handle, and ask the brand owner to update it; at the same time, make sure your website and B2B platform profiles say the same thing.
- If AI mentions us, will people send inquiries?
- Not necessarily. Being mentioned gives buyers a chance to see you in the answer, but whether they send an inquiry also depends on how clear your website is and how easy you are to contact. We measure separately whether AI mentions you and whether inquiries from your website, inbox and LINE go up.
- How often should we re-check?
- After you update your website or platform profiles, re-test with the same questions, usually a few weeks later. Each platform updates at its own pace, and no change gets recorded as no change.