What actually builds brand authority for AI search? The old SEO playbook doesn't seem to apply

You’ve identified the key shift. AI authority is about entity recognition, not page authority.

Traditional SEO Authority:

• Backlinks to your domain
• Domain rating/authority scores
• Trust signals from links

AI Brand Authority:

• How often your brand is mentioned across the web
• In what contexts your brand appears
• Which authoritative sources discuss you
• Consistency of information about your brand

The key difference:

Links say “this page is trustworthy.” Mentions say “this brand exists and is relevant to this topic.”

AI systems build entity understanding from mentions, not links. If your brand is mentioned in 500 authoritative articles but has 50 backlinks, AI knows you better than a brand with 500 backlinks but 50 mentions.

What builds AI brand authority:

1. Entity Recognition

   • Wikipedia page
   • Wikidata entry
   • Google Knowledge Panel
   • Schema markup on your site

2. Authoritative Mentions

   • Media coverage that mentions you
   • Industry reports that include you
   • Expert content that discusses you

3. Topical Association

   • Consistent association with specific topics
   • Being mentioned when those topics come up
   • “When people talk about X, they mention [Brand]”

PR strategy for AI brand authority:

Traditional PR goals:

• Coverage for awareness
• Backlinks for SEO
• Credibility for sales

AI-era PR additions:

• Brand mentions in authoritative sources
• Consistent brand description across coverage
• Category association in media context

What to optimize in PR:

1. Consistent Brand Mention Every piece of coverage should mention your brand name consistently. Same spelling, same format.

2. Category Association Coverage should explicitly state your category: “[Brand], a [category] company, announced…” Not just “[Brand] announced…”

3. Key Fact Inclusion Get key facts in coverage:

• Founding date
• Headquarters
• What you do
• Key differentiators

AI builds entity understanding from these facts across sources.

4. Target AI Training Sources Prioritize publications that AI systems likely train on:

• Major news outlets (NYT, WSJ, etc.)
• Industry-specific publications
• Wikipedia-cited sources

A mention in NYT builds more AI authority than a backlink from a low-quality blog.

Schema markup for entity authority:

Organization Schema is crucial:

{
  "@type": "Organization",
  "name": "Your Brand Name",
  "alternateName": "Brand Abbreviation",
  "foundingDate": "2015-03-15",
  "founders": [{"@type": "Person", "name": "Founder Name"}],
  "address": {
    "addressLocality": "Austin",
    "addressRegion": "TX",
    "addressCountry": "US"
  },
  "sameAs": [
    "https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Brand",
    "https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q123456",
    "https://linkedin.com/company/yourbrand"
  ]
}

Why this matters:

Schema explicitly tells AI: “We are an entity. Here’s our verified information.”

The sameAs property links your site to other authoritative sources, creating an entity network AI can verify.

Additional schema for authority:

• hasCredential - Certifications and awards
• award - Industry recognitions
• memberOf - Industry associations
• review - Aggregate review data

Content strategy for brand authority:

The old way (backlinks): Guest post on any site that will take you. Get links.

The new way (mentions + association):

1. Expert Positioning Get your leaders quoted in industry content:

• HARO queries
• Industry publications
• Expert roundups

Each quote with “[Name], CEO of [Brand]” builds brand association.

2. Research and Reports Publish original research that gets cited:

• Industry reports
• Survey data
• Trend analysis

Other content citing your research creates brand mentions without you asking for them.

3. Topical Focus Don’t be known for everything. Be THE authority on something specific.

“The experts in [specific niche]” > “We do marketing things”

AI associates brands with topics. Narrow focus builds stronger associations.

4. Thought Leadership Consistent perspective on industry topics:

• Conference speaking
• Podcast appearances
• LinkedIn thought leadership

Creates brand mentions in multiple contexts.

Data on what correlates with AI brand authority:

Analysis of 100 brands in same category:

Key insight:

Entity signals (Wikipedia, Wikidata, Knowledge Panel) and mentions correlate more strongly with AI citations than traditional SEO signals (backlinks, domain rating).

The brands that won:

• Had Wikipedia pages
• Were mentioned in 100+ articles in past year
• Had consistent entity information across platforms
• Had clear topical focus

The brands that didn’t:

• Had great backlink profiles but few mentions
• No entity presence (no Wikipedia, Wikidata)
• Generic positioning (“we help businesses grow”)

Early-stage brand authority building:

If you don’t meet Wikipedia notability yet:

1. Start with Wikidata You can create an entry for any company. It’s less strict. This establishes entity presence for AI systems.

2. Build Toward Notability Wikipedia requires “significant coverage in reliable sources.” Track media mentions. Once you have 3-5 substantial articles from reliable sources, you may be notable.

3. Industry Recognition Get on lists, win awards, get analyst mentions. These create citable sources that support notability.

4. Founder Personal Branding If your founder has personal notability, their Wikipedia mention can reference the company. Personal brands can lift company brands.

5. Focus on Owned Entities Perfect your:

• Organization schema
• Google Business Profile
• LinkedIn company page
• Consistent NAP (name, address, phone)

Timeline:

• Month 1-3: Wikidata, schema, profile optimization
• Month 4-6: PR for media mentions
• Month 6-12: Build toward Wikipedia notability
• Ongoing: Maintain and update entity information

This thread gave me a new framework. Key insights:

Shift from Backlinks to Entity Recognition:

• AI cares about mentions, not just links
• Entity presence (Wikipedia, Wikidata) is foundational
• Consistent information across sources matters

Our Action Plan:

Immediate (Week 1):

• Create Wikidata entry
• Optimize Organization schema
• Audit entity consistency across platforms

Short-term (Month 1-2):

• PR focus on brand mentions (not just links)
• Ensure coverage includes category association
• Expert positioning through quotes/commentary

Medium-term (Month 3-6):

• Publish original research for citation
• Build toward Wikipedia notability
• Develop topical authority in specific niche

Metrics to Track:

• Brand mention volume (not just backlinks)
• Entity presence (Wikipedia, Knowledge Panel)
• AI citation frequency (Am I Cited)
• Topical association strength

Key insight:

We optimized for backlinks when we should have optimized for entity recognition. AI authority comes from being a recognized entity consistently mentioned in authoritative contexts.

Thanks everyone for the new playbook!