The concept of E-E-A-T came about in 2022, and it’s a framework to determine the credibility of content on Google.
Since then, it’s worked wonders on traditional search. It’s been able to showcase more trusted and relevant sources to searchers.
As you know, however, search is changing. We now have AI search. And like Google search, E-E-A-T for AI search is mandatory.
What is E-E-A-T for AI Search?
E-E-A-T is an abbreviation for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It was initially used for Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines to determine how credible a piece of content is. AI search uses a similar framework when it comes to citing websites, citing only those that have undeniable expertise and authority in their field.
Why Does E-E-A-T in AI Search Matter?
AI search works a lot like traditional search. It must provide the users with the most accurate and trusted information.
Because of this, AI-powered overviews and chatbot answers tend to provide users with sources that align with E-E-A-T.
Latest research even suggests that Google’s AI Overviews uses its core ranking algorithms and Knowledge Graphs.
This, in turn, suggests that E-E-A-T is considered in Google’s AI Overviews when citing resources. Other AI tools, like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Bing, probably follow suit.
Being shown in these areas is also becoming more critical. It’s known that websites have seen a 70% decrease in web traffic since Google’s AI Overview came out due to zero-click results, making it incredibly important to appear in this SERP feature.
How Does AI Evaluate Source Trustworthiness?
AI overviews and LLMs favour content that has clear subject matter expertise. Alongside this, they focus on Knowledge Graphs, as this verifies the legitimacy of the business/person.
As a result, content that appears in AI search engines all has something in common. They need to be written or vetted by a true expert, backed by evidence, and clearly connected to a reputable organisation or author.
Proving Experience and Expertise in Your Content
When wanting to apply the first two E’s of E-E-A-T to your content for AI search, focus on demonstrating firsthand experience and subject expertise. You can do this by:
Using Personal Examples
First-hand anecdotes and hands-on results signal the highest level of domain expertise.
Therefore, try to provide concrete examples from real projects or experience and write in the first person. For example, instead of “Research found that…”, use “My study concluded…”, “Our research found…”
Backing Claims with Data
If you make a bold claim, back it up with data. Not any old data either, but data that has been provided by reliable studies from trustworthy authors.
More often than not, AI answers include factual figures. Therefore, providing unique data in the form of charts, user study results, or performance metrics is recommended.
Including Author Credentials
The first two E’s of E-E-A-T rely heavily on the actual person creating the content. Therefore, you’ll need to create a detailed author bio that the AI can parse.
An author bio should include everything from degrees all the way to certifications, years of experience, and any notable projects they participated in.
For YMYL content, such as content offering medical, legal, or financial advice, search engines like Google expect the authors to have professional credentials. This is the same for AI search.
Writing with Authority
You’ll also want to write content as an expert. Use languages and terminology that only your industry knows. Avoid generic content that any person (or AI) can provide. You need to be distinguished as an expert, and how you write is one way.
Linking to Trusted Sources
When natural, link to trusted sources. Think of sources from academic journals, industry reports, or government publications. These are all considered “trusted” in the eyes of the public as well as AI search engines.
Building Authority and Trustworthiness
The second two letters of E-E-A-T, A-T, a brand, person, or site, need to appear as authoritative and trustworthy. To strengthen these areas, you must:
Establish a Knowledge Graph Presence
This can be on an organisational or personal level. Either way, you want your brand and its key experts to have a Google Knowledge Panel and other forms of verifiable online footprint.
Apart from a Google Knowledge Panel, this could also be a Google Business/Profile listing, a Wiki page, etc. This will all increase website and content authority.
Build a Strong Backlink Profile
Similar to traditional search, with AI search, being “widely referenced” by other authoritative sources will boost your content’s credibility.
Because of this, you want to have a strong backlink profile. Just make sure these are from a high authority and relevant websites.
Ensure Transparent Authorship
Google recommends providing the Who, How, and Why regarding your content.
- Who created it
- How was it created
- Why was it created
Who created it (author), how was it created (by author, with AI, from a study, etc.), why was it created (is there any reason this content needs to be created other than getting traffic?)
The “why” is a little less important than the “who” and “how” for transparent authorship. Still, something to consider when focusing on E-E-A-T with AI.
Use On-Page Trust Signals
Where relevant, use trust signals like customer reviews, testimonials, and trust badges when possible.
If you publish reviews or product comparisons, you’ll also want to discuss the review methodology. This also refers back to the “How was it created” guidelines above.
Maintain High Editorial Standards
Content should be helpful and accurate. Therefore, ensure high editorial standards. This can increase the level of trust in you and your content.
To do this, fact-check, have a low error rate, and provide up-to-date information. All in all, AI answers must be factually accurate and verifiable.
Optimise Site Security and User Experience
Always use HTTPS, clean site navigation, and a mobile-friendly design. Although these are general best SEO practices, they contribute to being perceived as trusted. As a result, make sure your website follows these general practices to increase authority and trustworthiness.
Encourage Positive Mentions
To be seen as “trusted” subject matter experts and brands should be mentioned in various other locations on the internet. For example, industry reports, social media posts, and any other third-party sites. If you’re commonly cited as an expert source, an AI system will trust it more.
Using Structured Data to Enhance E-E-A-T
Structured data (schema markup) is a way to provide E-E-A-T signals to AI crawlers in a language they understand. It makes the content more machine-readable and therefore easier to identify whether it follows true E-E-A-T signals to be cited as a source.
For example, with the “Article” schema, you can add the author and several other details.
The AI (or search engine) can then quickly see who wrote this content, what their social profiles are, and whether they’re a credible author.
Key Schema Types and Usage Scenarios
| Schema Type | Where to Use It | Key Details (E-E-A-T Signals) |
| Article / NewsArticle / BlogPosting | On blog posts or article pages | Add details like the title, image, publish and update dates, and the author. Use Person or Organisation for the author, and include their website or social links. |
| Person | On author bio or profile pages | Use for the author. Include their name, job title, company, education, credentials, memberships, and links to their profiles. |
| Organisation | On your About or Contact page | Use for your business or brand. Include name, logo, website, founder, start date, contact info, and social media links. |
| ProfilePage | On author pages | (Advanced) Wrap the page in this type and connect it to the Person schema to show it belongs to that person. |
When implementing schema, use tools like Schema Markup Validator to determine whether it’s working properly.
Optimising for YMYL and High-Stakes Niches
For YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) content, for example, content that can impact health, finance or safety, must follow E-E-A-T with extreme care.
The same E-E-A-T guidelines follow. However, you need to be even more precise on who writes your content, who edits it, what sources you use, the unique research you perform, etc.
Regarding E-E-A-T for this type of content, think tenfold. Ten times the better expertise, ten times the better research, ten times the updates, ten times the better experience-based content, etc. This will ensure that you send off content trust signals.
Final Word
E-E-A-T, like with traditional search, plays a huge role in AI search. And it’s understandable. It works really well.
Because of this, all website owners, when trying to increase their visibility in AI citations, need to follow the best E-E-A-T practices for AI. This means ensuring your content showcases experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
If you’re unsure whether your content, website, or subject matter experts have good E-E-A-T, we recommend that you perform a content audit. While performing this, think about the who, how, and why of the Google guidelines mentioned in this post.
