E-E-A-T for the AI Era: How ChatGPT & Co. Recognize Your Brand as a Trustworthy Source

Trust is the new currency of AI search. When ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity make a recommendation, they only cite sources they consider trustworthy. Brands perceived as less authoritative by the AI simply don't appear in responses.

The E-E-A-T concept – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness – was previously a rather abstract SEO concept at Google. With AI search systems, it's a direct input into the decision algorithm.

E-E-A-T describes four quality dimensions that Google uses to evaluate web content:

Experience: Does the author or brand have practical experience with the topic? A product test from someone who actually used the product is more valuable than a theoretical description.

Expertise: Does the source have demonstrable expertise? For medical topics, you'd expect doctors; for legal topics, lawyers; for financial topics, certified advisors.

Authoritativeness: Is the source recognized as an authority by others? Backlinks from renowned websites, mentions in trade media, and citations by experts are authority signals.

Trustworthiness: Is the source reliable and transparent? Clear contact details, imprint, privacy policies, and a clean track record are trust indicators.

With AI search systems, these factors become even more important. The AI must decide which of thousands of potential sources to cite for an answer. E-E-A-T signals are critical filter criteria.

Research on generative search engines shows that AI systems have a strong preference for "earned media" – meaning independent, editorial content rather than brand-owned or social media content.

A comparative analysis of ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini shows: all AI systems consistently prefer sources like professional reviews, publisher domains, and institutional websites. Claude and ChatGPT are most focused on "earned media."

In contrast, Google Search shows a more balanced mix of brand content, social media, and earned media. This means: what works for Google isn't enough for AI visibility.

With Google, E-E-A-T is primarily a ranking factor – the better your E-E-A-T signals, the higher your position in the link list.

With AI search, it's a binary decision: either the AI trusts your source enough to cite it – or not. There's no "position 7" in an AI response.

This makes building authority and trust even more critical. Average E-E-A-T signals that might suffice for a mid-range Google ranking may lead to complete invisibility in AI search.

The most important finding from current research: invest less in your own content and more in third-party validation.

This specifically means:

AI systems work with "entities" – clearly defined concepts like people, organizations, or products. The more clearly your brand is recognizable as an entity, the better.

Practical measures:

Expertise must be verifiable for AI systems – not just claimed.

Effective methods:

Trustworthiness requires transparency:

Customer reviews are a critical factor for AI trust – but not all reviews count equally.

AI systems prefer:

Brand-owned testimonials on your own website carry less weight than independent third-party reviews.

Research shows that different AI systems prioritize different trust sources:

Claude and ChatGPT: Strongly focused on earned media. Strategy: secure position in top-tier publications and review sites in your industry.

Perplexity: Incorporates more diverse sources, including YouTube and retailer domains. Strategy: also optimize video content and product listings on major retailer websites.

Gemini: Shows greater willingness to cite brand-owned properties. Strategy: a slightly more balanced approach leveraging both earned media and well-structured, deep content on your own domain.