In the age of AI-driven discovery, your brand’s credibility isn’t just determined by backlinks or rankings. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity increasingly rely on plain-text mentions — who’s talking about you, how they describe you, and whether their perception aligns with your brand narrative.

That shift means marketing leaders must rethink how they earn visibility. Authority in AEO is built through credibility, design quality, and consistent third-party validation — all signals that now shape how models represent your brand in AI-generated answers.

If you take away one thing

Expand beyond backlinks. Building authority in AEO means earning consistent, authentic recognition across trusted sources and communities so that both people and AI models cite your brand as the source of truth.

Level 1: Expand backlink strategies

At this early stage, teams are focused on traditional link-building and SEO best practices. Backlinks still matter, but they’re no longer enough to establish credibility in AI search. To advance, brands need to move beyond link acquisition and strive toward showing up consistently and positively across trusted third-party sites.

Questions to ask:

• What topics best position us as thought leaders in our category?
• What unique expertise or perspective strengthens our authority in those areas?
• Which areas of focus will most engage our audience and set us apart from competitors?
  
  

How to get started:

• Create content that demonstrates E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
• Add author bios to key content that highlight credentials and experience.
• Show firsthand experience through behind-the-scenes insights, case studies, or real-world stories
• Cite authoritative sources and ensure clear ownership of information
• Claim your brand entity in Google Search and ensure your Knowledge Graph is accurate
• Create or update your Wikipedia page to reflect accurate, current information

Level 2: Show up in new channels

At level 2, you’re creating content that reflects your unique expertise — but it’s time to extend that visibility beyond your owned channels. Expanding into digital PR, podcasts, guest content, and authentic community spaces builds awareness and credibility across the sources that LLMs prioritize.

Questions to ask:

• Which sources are cited in AI answers for the topics we care about?
• For citations missing us, how are we working to get included?
• Which sites, publications, and communities drive industry conversations — and which should we target for mentions?
• How are people discussing our brand in authentic spaces like Reddit, Quora, and TechRadar?

How to get started:

• Get spokespeople active through podcasts, webinars, interviews, and guest posts.
• Engage authentically in community spaces like Reddit, Quora, and other LLM-prioritized forums.
• Identify citation sources in AI answers to target for outreach, PR, or co-marketing.
• Build a communications plan that supports consistent, human storytelling across multiple platforms.

Level 3: Grow credibility through digital PR

At this stage, your narrative is consistently represented in the market. The next step is to expand influence through original thought leadership and exceptional on-site experiences. A site that captivates both visually and emotionally reinforces credibility with both people and LLMs.

Questions to ask:

• What’s the story that we want the market to remember and repeat about our brand?
• Do we have an integrated marketing plan to bring that story to life?
• Are we monitoring and correcting outdated or inaccurate information on Wikipedia and key third-party sites?
• How can we make our site more visually engaging, emotionally resonant, and immersive?

How to get started:

• Publish cornerstone thought leadership content each year (e.g., reports, research studies, or industry guides).
• Update and correct inaccurate third-party content, directories, and reviews.
• Maintain your Google Knowledge Panel and key directory profiles.
• Invest in creative storytelling — design engaging infographics, build animations, and build interactive elements
• Track and verify citations to ensure accuracy and proper attribution
  
  

Level 4: Stand out with visual storytelling

By level 4, your brand has achieved consistent visibility and credibility. The goal now is to scale, ensuring accuracy and quality across every mention, while continuing to make your content impossible to overlook.

Questions to ask:

• What would make our brand and content impossible not to cite?
• How can we expand mentions across new outlets, communities, and partnerships?
• How are we maintaining accuracy and quality as we scale our earned visibility?

How to get started:

• Collaborate with journalists, creators, and partners to include your brand in their work
• Co-create original content, research, or thought leadership with other credible organizations
• Refresh designs and content layout for accessibility, clarity, and consistency across key pages and assets

Level 5: Maintain broad recognition

At the highest level, your brand is widely cited, trusted, and referenced as a source of truth in your industry. Other companies reference your research and thought leadership to make business decisions, and your brand name carries credibility across your industry.

Questions to ask:

• Should we partner with other organizations to produce new benchmark studies or large-scale research?
• How can we stay ahead of industry conversations and shape what comes next?
• What investments will keep our leadership position strong and defensible?

How to get started:

• Continue investing in cornerstone research, data storytelling, and long-form insights.
• Expand your co-creation strategy with ongoing partnerships that amplify your expertise.
• Build systems to monitor brand mentions, sentiment, and representation across AI and human discovery channels.

Bringing it all together

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Authority in AEO is built on three things: credibility, consistency, and authenticity. It's not just about visibility — it's about trust. The brands that win are the ones you keep encountering across reputable platforms. And over time, they become the source of truth in their category.

Get this right, and you're not just managing your reputation — you're controlling your narrative. You become the expert that both people and AI turn to and trust. That's when your story gets told the way you intend it.

Find out where your brand stands

Ready to see how your brand measures up across the four AEO categories? Take the free AEO Maturity Assessment to benchmark your readiness, identify opportunities to strengthen your visibility, and get personalized recommendations for how to level up in AI-driven search.