As artificial intelligence reshapes the global digital landscape, the traditional mechanics of brand building—long rooted in billboard visibility and search engine dominance—are undergoing a fundamental transformation. Wang Jiangping, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and former Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), argues that the logic of brand value is shifting from managing complex systems to nurturing 'evolvable intelligent entities.' In this new era, the battle for consumer mindshare is no longer fought solely through Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but through the emerging and more complex field of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
The significance of this shift was recently highlighted by a crackdown on 'GEO poisoning'—the manipulation of generative AI outputs—during China’s influential '3.15' consumer rights gala. While such incidents expose the risks of bad actors polluting AI training sets, Wang views the fallout as a vital opportunity to reset the industry's standards. By forcing regulators and model providers to implement more robust filters, the state aims to ensure that the AI-driven information ecosystem remains credible, preventing a 'race to the bottom' where low-quality data displaces authentic brand value.
Central to Wang’s vision is the concept of 'Kindness AI' (Shangshan AI), a governance philosophy that emphasizes fairness, justice, and inclusivity. This approach suggests that AI governance is not merely about technical restrictions, but about embedding humanistic warmth into the interaction between machines and users. For corporations, this means moving beyond simple marketing to create an 'AI Mind Project.' This involves translating a company’s culture, patents, and reputation into structured data assets that AI models can accurately interpret, trust, and reproduce when prompted by consumers.
This evolution is deeply entwined with China’s broader national strategy of 'New Industrialization.' The MIIT’s current roadmap seeks three critical transitions by 2035: moving from 'Made in China' to 'Created in China,' from speed to quality, and from generic products to globally recognized brands. According to Wang, high-quality brand building is the ultimate benchmark for a true manufacturing superpower. In the AI world, a brand must possess a 'unified soul'—a matrix of intelligent agents across different platforms that consistently deliver the company’s core values and character to an increasingly AI-dependent public.