(Oct 8): OpenAI opened ChatGPT advertising to Malaysian businesses on Sept 23, signalling a new channel for reaching customers. But with policies generally prohibiting financial services ads outside the US, local financial services providers are largely locked out of buying visibility.

The stakes extend beyond advertising. When a customer asks ChatGPT to compare financial products, its answer can shape the shortlist. A provider that goes unmentioned risks losing that customer before it has a chance to compete.

A brand that leads on Google might expect to lead in AI search too. But a new channel can produce a different competitive order.

The Clout Quadrant Benchmark Report, supported by the Fintech Association of Malaysia (FAOM), tests that assumption. Using Similarweb data from March to August 2026, it compares brands' shares of unpaid search engine visits (search) with their shares of visits from AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot (AI search). The benchmark measures the visits these channels deliver, rather than every mention a brand receives.

This commentary examines e-wallets, digital banks and digital wealth platforms. Each category compares five brands, and shares are calculated among those five, separately for search and AI search. A brand is strong when it exceeds an equal share: over 20%. Four positions emerge.

Leaders are strong in both channels, attracting traffic from established and emerging sources. Defending both positions prepares them for changing discovery habits. Losing ground in AI search risks turning them into Latent Giants.

Latent Giants are strong in search but weak in AI search. Search sustains their visibility, but offers no guarantee of strength in AI search. Closing the gap makes them Leaders; leaving it open risks eroding their advantage as discovery shifts.

Disruptors are strong in AI search despite weaker search positions. They reach customers without first winning on Google. Their advantage becomes more valuable if AI search grows and they hold their share. Building search strength makes them Leaders.

Dark Horses are weak in both channels. A breakthrough in AI search can turn them into Disruptors; without progress in either channel, they risk remaining outside customers' consideration.

The three categories show that strength in search is no guarantee of strength in AI search.

Among e-wallets, TNG eWallet is the Leader, with 54% of search and 71% of AI search.

The contrast is between Setel and ShopeePay. Setel is stronger in search, but ShopeePay receives more than twice its AI search visits. With 19.8% of AI search, ShopeePay sits just below the 20% threshold. A small gain in share would turn it from a Dark Horse into a Disruptor. Setel remains a Latent Giant, while Boost and BigPay are weak in both channels.

Among digital banks, Ryt Bank and GXBank are both Leaders, exceeding 20% in search and AI search. Ryt leads both, with 44% of AI search against GXBank’s 38%.

Further down, the rankings reverse. AEON Bank receives almost three times Boost Bank’s search visits, but less than half its AI search visits. With just over 20% of search, AEON Bank is a Latent Giant. Boost Bank and KAF Digital Bank remain below the threshold in both channels.

Digital wealth platforms offer the clearest challenge to the established order. StashAway is the Leader. But Wahed, with less than a third of StashAway's search visits, leads it in AI search, 46% to 43%. That makes Wahed the only Disruptor across the three categories.

Wahed is also close to becoming a Leader. Its search share stands at 19%, just below the 20% threshold. If its search share exceeds 20% while its AI search position holds, it will join StashAway.

Versa, KDI and MYTHEO are Dark Horses, below 20% in both channels.
 
These positions are snapshots, not permanent ranks. The opportunity is to build strength before competitors consolidate theirs.

Even if OpenAI opens financial services advertising to Malaysian firms, it says ads do not influence ChatGPT's answers. Paid access would buy a separate advertising placement. Inclusion in the answer would still have to be earned.

For fintechs, the question is where they stand today, and what it will take to be considered tomorrow.

David Chong is the founder of Content Clout, an agency specialising in search and AI search visibility, and creator of the Clout Quadrant.