Do I need Malay or Chinese content for ChatGPT to cite my business?

Mostly, no. When customers ask ChatGPT in Malay or Chinese, it usually searches in English and cites English pages. In our test on 24 September 2026 (method below), ChatGPT ran 87% of its searches in English for Malay questions and 96% for Chinese ones. 82–89% of the pages it cited were in English.

It still answered in the customer's language every time. It just didn't look in that language.

So the page that decides whether ChatGPT cites your business is usually your English page, even when your customer asks in Malay or Chinese. Your Malay and Chinese pages still matter, but for a different reason.

What language does ChatGPT search in when my customers ask in Malay or Chinese?

ChatGPT searches mostly in English, whatever language your customer asks in. Before it answers, ChatGPT turns the question into its own short web searches. In our test, those searches were in English for 87% of Malay questions and 96% of Chinese questions.

How often does ChatGPT search in English for Malay and Chinese questions?

Source: EasyFound test, 24 September 2026. ChatGPT via OpenAI's API with web search, market set to Malaysia, model gpt-5.4-mini, 45 questions × 3 runs. The one remaining Chinese-question search was in English but used the Malay name of Malaysia's company registry, Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia.

Of the 5 Chinese-language searches, 3 mixed Chinese and English in the same search.

What language are the pages ChatGPT cites for Malay and Chinese questions?

ChatGPT mostly cites English pages, even for Malay and Chinese questions. For Malay questions, 82% of the pages ChatGPT cited were in English. For Chinese questions, 89% were.

Pages we couldn't read are counted in the totals as unknown (7–12% per row).

Will ChatGPT cite my Malay or Chinese page?

ChatGPT sometimes cites a Malay page and rarely cites a Chinese one. It cited a Malay page 17 times across 43 Malay answers that cited anything, and a Chinese page twice across 41 Chinese answers. So a Malay or Chinese page alone is unlikely to get your business cited by ChatGPT.

When did ChatGPT cite Malay pages?

ChatGPT cited Malay pages mostly for one question. 12 of the 17 Malay citations came from a single question: a renovation contractor in KL for a terrace house on a low budget. Suitable Malay pages existed for it, and ChatGPT used them.

On that question, the Malay answers also named a completely different set of contractors from the English answers, with no overlap at all. It's one question, so treat it as an illustration, not a rule. But it shows the mechanism: ChatGPT can only cite your business from a page it actually reads.

Did ChatGPT cite any Chinese pages?

ChatGPT cited a Chinese page only twice, out of 153 cited pages for Chinese questions.

For example, when we asked "吉隆坡哪间装修公司靠谱，报价透明有保修" (which KL renovation company is reliable, with a transparent quote and warranty), one run's searches were all in English, starting with "Kuala Lumpur renovation company transparent quotation warranty reviews Malaysia 2026". It then answered in Chinese, from English pages.

Why does ChatGPT say Malay content helps, then?

ChatGPT says Malay content helps because it's answering a different question: what helps your customers, not what it reads. On 25 September 2026 we asked ChatGPT in Malay, "Perlukah saya ada kandungan Bahasa Melayu supaya ChatGPT cadangkan perniagaan saya?" Both runs began: "Ya, sangat membantu" (yes, it helps a lot). Asked the same thing in English, it said "Not necessarily" once and "Not strictly, but it helps a lot" once. Neither answer ran a web search.

That advice is fair for your customers: people who read Malay trust a page in Malay. But it doesn't describe what ChatGPT reads. In its own searching, it went to English pages most of the time.

Does ChatGPT recommend different businesses when customers ask in Malay or Chinese?

ChatGPT recommends slightly different businesses when customers ask in Malay or Chinese instead of English, but the change is smaller than its own randomness. Its list changes more between two runs of the same question than between languages.

How much does ChatGPT's list of businesses change between English, Malay and Chinese?

ChatGPT's list of businesses changes a little between English, Malay and Chinese. In our test, answers to the same question in two different languages shared 7–11% of the businesses they named. Two answers to the same question in the same language shared 15%.

So language nudges the list, and chance moves it more. The terrace-house renovation question above was the clear exception.

Why does ChatGPT name different businesses every time, even in one language?

ChatGPT names different businesses every time because nobody owns these answers yet, in any language. Just 6% of the businesses ChatGPT named showed up in all three runs of the same question. That matches a much larger study: the same prompts run 2,961 times returned the identical list of businesses less than 1 time in 100 (SparkToro).

For the company secretary and accounting questions, ChatGPT usually explained how to choose (for example, check the firm against the SSM register) and named a different firm, or none, each time.

Which language should my business website be in for ChatGPT to cite it?

Your business website should be in both: put your key facts on an English page, and keep your Malay or Chinese pages too. They do different jobs.

In our test, 82–89% of the pages ChatGPT cited were in English, whatever language the customer asked in. Your translated pages serve your customers. Your English page is what ChatGPT most often reads.

What should my English page say for ChatGPT to cite it?

For ChatGPT to cite it, your English page should state the specific facts a customer's question needs, in plain words:

• what you do ("aircon chemical wash for condos", not "total comfort solutions")
• where you work: the towns and areas, by name
• your price range or how you charge
• what a customer checks before trusting you, such as your registration, licence or warranty terms

If your English page is thin (a logo, a phone number, "quality service since 2008"), ChatGPT has nothing to cite about you, in any of the three languages.

Should I keep my Malay and Chinese pages if ChatGPT mostly cites English ones?

Yes, keep your Malay and Chinese pages. They are how Malay- and Chinese-reading customers get comfortable once they find you. And a clear Malay page can be cited when a Malay question is specific enough, as the renovation question showed. Just don't rely on it to get ChatGPT to find you in the first place.

How did we test whether ChatGPT cites Malay and Chinese content?

We asked ChatGPT 15 buying questions from five Malaysian industries (hotels in Penang, renovation in KL, solar installers, company secretaries and accounting firms), each in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese, three times: 135 answers on 24 September 2026. Each question was written the way Malaysians actually type it, not translated word for word.

• The engine: ChatGPT through OpenAI's API, with web search on and the location set to Malaysia. That's close to, but not the same as, the logged-in ChatGPT app.
• Page language: read from each cited page's own text, never from its web address.
• The data: every run's search and citation counts are in a downloadable CSV, with business names left out.

It's one engine on one evening. Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews may behave differently, and ChatGPT changes often, so we'll repeat the test and publish what changes.

See all 45 questions we asked ChatGPT, in English, Malay and Chinese

All 45 test questions: 15 buying questions, each asked in English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese

#	English	Bahasa Malaysia	中文
1	best hotels in Penang	hotel terbaik di Penang	槟城酒店推荐
2	best hotel in Penang for kids with a pool	hotel di Penang yang sesuai untuk kanak-kanak dan ada kolam renang	槟城亲子酒店推荐，有泳池的
3	cheap but good hotel in George Town Penang for a weekend	hotel murah tapi best di George Town Penang untuk hujung minggu	乔治市性价比高的酒店，周末住
4	best renovation contractor in KL	kontraktor renovate rumah terbaik di KL	吉隆坡装修公司推介
5	renovation contractor in KL for a terrace house on a low budget	kontraktor renovate rumah teres di KL kos rendah	吉隆坡排屋装修预算不多，找哪间装修公司好
6	trustworthy renovation company in KL with a fixed quotation and warranty	kontraktor renovate di KL yang boleh dipercayai ada sebut harga tetap dan waranti	吉隆坡哪间装修公司靠谱，报价透明有保修
7	best solar installer in Malaysia	syarikat solar terbaik di Malaysia	马来西亚solar公司推荐
8	solar panel installer for a terrace house in Malaysia to cut my TNB bill	pasang solar di rumah teres nak jimat bil TNB syarikat mana bagus	排屋装solar省TNB电费，找哪家好
9	which solar company in Malaysia is trustworthy with a warranty and a fair price	syarikat solar mana di Malaysia yang boleh dipercayai ada waranti dan harga berpatutan	马来西亚哪家solar公司靠谱，有保修价格合理
10	best company secretary service in Malaysia	setiausaha syarikat sdn bhd terbaik di Malaysia	马来西亚公司秘书服务推荐
11	company secretary for registering a new Sdn Bhd in Malaysia who is good and affordable	daftar syarikat sdn bhd murah setiausaha syarikat mana bagus	马来西亚注册Sdn Bhd公司，找哪家公司秘书好
12	how much does a company secretary cost in Malaysia and which firm is reliable	berapa kos setiausaha syarikat dan firma mana yang boleh dipercayai	马来西亚公司秘书一年多少钱，哪家靠谱
13	best accounting firm in Malaysia for small businesses	firma perakaunan terbaik untuk perniagaan kecil di Malaysia	马来西亚会计公司推荐，小生意报税
14	accounting firm in KL to do tax filing for my Sdn Bhd	firma perakaunan di KL untuk buat cukai syarikat sdn bhd	吉隆坡找会计公司帮Sdn Bhd报税，哪间好
15	affordable and reliable accounting firm in Malaysia and how much they charge	firma perakaunan yang murah dan boleh dipercayai berapa caj	马来西亚会计公司收费多少，哪间便宜又靠谱

What does this mean for my business when customers ask ChatGPT in Malay or Chinese?

It means the door is still open. When customers ask ChatGPT in Malay or Chinese, it mostly reads English pages, and it names a different mix of businesses almost every time. Nobody owns these answers yet, so a business that states its facts clearly still has room to become the one ChatGPT cites.

What opportunity does this give my business in ChatGPT?

Three, from what we saw:

• One clear English page can reach customers in three languages. ChatGPT searched in English for 87% of Malay questions and 96% of Chinese ones, so the same page can be cited whichever language your customer asks in.
• The spots aren't taken yet. Only 6% of the businesses ChatGPT named appeared in all three runs of the same question. Your competitors haven't locked these answers in.
• A specific Malay page can win a specific question. On the budget terrace-house renovation question, ChatGPT cited Malay pages and named contractors the English answers never mentioned.

What should I do first to get my business cited by ChatGPT?

1. See what ChatGPT says about your business today, in English and in the language your customers use. You can't fix what you haven't seen.
2. Make sure ChatGPT is allowed to read your website. OpenAI says sites that opt out of its OAI-SearchBot crawler "will not be shown in ChatGPT search answers" (OpenAI). Whoever manages your site can check this in a minute.
3. Put your key facts on an English page: what you do, where you work, how you charge and why customers can trust you (the checklist above).
4. Keep your Malay and Chinese pages, and make one of them specific enough to answer the question those customers ask most.
5. Check again next month. ChatGPT's answers change, so one check is only a snapshot.

This is what GEO, or generative engine optimisation, is about: improving how AI systems understand, cite and recommend a business. The easiest place to start is step 1. Request your free AI visibility check below and see what ChatGPT says about your business today.