# 3.15 Gala

Poisoning the Well: Why China’s AI Marketing Industry is Thriving After a Major Scandal

China's '3.15' gala exposed a gray market for manipulating AI recommendations, but the scandal has unexpectedly fueled a surge in demand for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) services. As search habits shift from browsers to AI bots, businesses are racing to influence LLM outputs, sparking a new 'arms race' between marketers and AI developers.