Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming one of the most powerful geopolitical and economic forces in the world. It is changing how countries compete, build influence, and attract investment.
Until recently, discussions about Central Asia’s economic development were dominated by infrastructure, energy, logistics, and natural resources. Today, a new layer of competition is emerging: digital influence shaped by AI systems.
According to McKinsey, AI could contribute up to $13 trillion to the global economy by 2030. For Central Asia and Kazakhstan, AI development is no longer just a digital transformation agenda; it is directly tied to technological sovereignty, economic resilience, and long-term competitiveness.
Who Shapes a Country’s Image in the Age of AI?
Digital influence is increasingly determined by how artificial intelligence systems interpret and represent countries.
Consider a Singaporean investor asking Gemini about emerging technology markets in Central Asia. A European procurement manager using ChatGPT to identify logistics partners in the region. A journalist turning to Perplexity for insights on Kazakhstan’s fintech ecosystem before writing a report.
In each case, AI generates answers based on the data it has been trained on and can access. This creates a new geopolitical reality: those who shape data and content structure ultimately shape how countries are represented globally.
Generative AI is already used at a massive scale, with ChatGPT surpassing 900 million weekly active users as of early 2026. As these systems become default information interfaces, the visibility of countries within AI-generated responses is becoming increasingly important.
When high-quality, structured, and authoritative content is missing, AI systems rely on outdated information, fragmented sources, and external narratives. In practice, this means that a lack of structured digital presence can directly influence international perception.
How Other Countries Are Responding
Several countries have already recognized this shift and are actively responding.
According to Axios, Israel paid Brad Parscale’s firm $9 million as part of a campaign aimed at shaping how AI platforms portray the country.
The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are investing heavily in AI infrastructure and Arabic-language models, including Gulf-backed data centers, sovereign AI initiatives, and Arabic-first large language models.
These efforts go beyond technology development. They represent a broader competition for influence in an information environment where AI-generated responses increasingly shape global understanding.
AI Momentum in Kazakhstan
In 2025, Kazakhstan was listed among the region’s strongest performers in the Government AI Readiness Index published by Oxford Insights. Kazakh officials cited a ranking of 60th out of 195 countries, while Oxford Insights published a regional report that placed Kazakhstan 58th globally. In either case, it was the highest-ranked of the five Central Asian states and represented a sharp improvement from the previous year.
Over the past two years, Kazakhstan has demonstrated rapid progress in artificial intelligence. Venture investment in AI has increased more than fivefold, from $14 million to $73 million. IT service exports surpassed $1 billion in 2025, with later ministry figures putting the total at about $1.14 billion. The Kazakh-linked AI startup Higgsfield AI has also been widely described as Kazakhstan’s first unicorn.
Institutionally, Kazakhstan has also moved forward. In September 2025, a dedicated Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development was established. In November 2025, Kazakhstan adopted Central Asia’s first dedicated law on artificial intelligence, which entered into force in January 2026.
Kazakhstan already has one of the most advanced digital ecosystems in the region, including fintech adoption, e-government infrastructure, a growing startup scene, and expanding IT education.
However, it remains underrepresented in the global knowledge systems that modern AI models rely on.
The New Digital Reality
This creates a structural risk: even neutral queries about Kazakhstan’s economy or investment environment may be interpreted through outdated data, weak sources, or external narratives.
In this context, content creation alone is no longer sufficient. It must be adapted for generative AI systems, structured in ways that allow algorithms to recognize, retrieve, and cite it as authoritative information.
Research by Princeton-linked authors on Generative Engine Optimization shows that adding citations, statistics, and relevant quotations can improve the visibility of source content in AI-generated responses, with some tests showing visibility gains of up to 37% on Perplexity.ai.
This shift requires coordinated action across government, media, and the private sector. It is no longer about isolated content production, but about building a systematic digital presence that is machine-readable, verifiable, and globally integrated.
In the coming years, countries will compete not only for economic influence but also for visibility within artificial intelligence systems.
Those who begin shaping their presence in these systems early will gain a structural advantage not only in investment attraction, but also in trust, narrative influence, and global positioning.
