Authority & Trust in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Authority & Trust in Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Written by: Kent Lundin, Professor of Digital Marketing, BYU–Idaho
LinkedIn · About
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) isn’t just about visibility — it’s about credibility.
Authority and trust determine whether AI systems like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity reuse your content or skip it.
This page explains a single, unified process for making your website trustworthy, authoritative, and citable — blending Google’s E-E-A-T principles with the structural clarity of GEO.
Why Authority Matters in the Age of AI
AI systems and search engines both rank, retrieve, and cite information based on trust.
When an AI model generates an answer, it selects paragraphs that are:
- Authored by a verifiable expert
- Supported by real experience or data
- Structured for machine understanding
In short: AI retrieves what it can trust.
Authority isn’t claimed — it’s proven through clarity, context, and consistency.
The Unified GEO Trust Framework
GEO integrates Google’s E-E-A-T model (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) into a single system of credibility that humans and machines both understand.
| Human Credibility (E-E-A-T) | Machine Readability (GEO) | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Experience – real examples, firsthand application | Entities that reference your real work or results | Demonstrates authenticity |
| Expertise – credentials, education, specialization | Schema markup for Person and Organization | Establishes authority in the knowledge graph |
| Authoritativeness – associations and citations | Internal and external entity linking | Builds semantic credibility |
| Trustworthiness – transparency, consistency, accuracy | Clear structure, factual tone, last-updated metadata | Enables AI to safely reuse your content |
When written and structured this way, E-E-A-T becomes the human face of GEO — not a separate checklist.
Step-by-Step: How to Make Your Website Authoritative and Trustworthy
Each of these six actions reinforces both human trust and AI recognition.
1. Establish a Verifiable Author Identity
AI and humans both trust named experts.
Every page should identify the author and link that name to recognized entities.
Example:
“Written by Professor Kent Lundin, Professor of Digital Marketing at Brigham Young University–Idaho, founder of KentLundin.com.”
Add schema markup for Person and connect it to your About page, LinkedIn, and BYU-Idaho faculty bio.
This creates a persistent author entity in AI knowledge graphs.
2. Demonstrate Experience Through Examples
People and AI believe what they can verify.
Show real, contextual experience:
“In my Web Business course at BYU-Idaho, students applied GEO principles and tracked improvements in AI citation accuracy.”
These details demonstrate firsthand expertise — a cornerstone of both E-E-A-T and GEO.
3. Use Schema Markup to Encode Credibility
Structured data confirms what readers see.
Add author, organization, and sameAs fields in JSON-LD.
Example:
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Professor Kent Lundin",
"affiliation": {
"@type": "CollegeOrUniversity",
"name": "Brigham Young University–Idaho"
},
"sameAs": [
"https://kentlundin.com/about/",
"https://www.linkedin.com/in/kentlundin/"
]
}
→ Learn more: Schema Markup for GEO
4. Link to Recognized Entities and Credible Sources
Authority is strengthened through association.
Reference and link to real organizations, studies, and tools:
- Google Search Quality Rater Guidelines (E-E-A-T)
- Schema.org vocabulary
- HubSpot or academic studies
- BYU-Idaho as an educational institution
Each link expands your authority graph, connecting your page to trusted entities.
→ Learn more: Entities & Knowledge Graphs Explained
5. Maintain Transparency and Objectivity
Use a clear, educational tone — not a sales pitch.
Avoid vague adjectives like “best,” “amazing,” or “world-class.”
Instead, provide measurable details and balanced statements:
“While this approach improves retrieval accuracy, it requires consistent internal linking to maintain context.”
Transparency earns both reader trust and AI confidence.
6. Keep Content Current and Consistent
Authority fades when content ages.
Update your pages every few months to reflect the latest data or examples.
Display an update date such as:
Last updated: October 2025.
Consistency across all pages — same author name, same organizational schema, same factual tone — helps AI map your expertise as a single trusted entity.
Example: Before and After
Before (Unverified Marketing Claim):
“Our system is the best way to improve AI visibility.”
After (Trustworthy, Entity-Rich Version):
“The Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) framework, developed by Professor Kent Lundin at BYU-Idaho, provides marketers with a structured process for helping AI systems like ChatGPT and Gemini interpret and cite online content accurately.”
Why it works:
- Introduces 3 verifiable entities (GEO, Kent Lundin, BYU-Idaho)
- Uses educational tone
- States a fact rather than a claim
- Forms a complete, citable answer
Checklist for an Authoritative Page
✅ Author name, credentials, and organization
✅ Structured data for Person, Organization, and WebPage
✅ Real examples that demonstrate experience
✅ References to credible entities and data sources
✅ Transparent, factual writing tone
✅ Updated publication or revision date
Each item adds a layer of confidence — for readers, search engines, and generative AI systems alike.
Key Takeaway
E-E-A-T explains what trust looks like.
GEO shows how to structure it so AI can understand and cite it.
When combined, they create the modern web standard for credibility — content that is both believable to humans and interpretable by AI.
Author
Written by: Professor Kent Lundin
Professor of Digital Marketing, Brigham Young University–Idaho
Founder of KentLundin.com — exploring how AI reshapes marketing, content, and visibility.
Next Steps in GEO Learning
→ Entities & Knowledge Graphs Explained
→ Schema Markup for GEO
→ Writing Answer-Optimized Content
FAQ: Building Authority & Trust in the Age of AI
What makes a website authoritative to AI systems?
AI engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity identify authority through structured signals. They look for verifiable authors, linked entities, and content that provides complete, factual answers. A website is authoritative when it consistently connects its people, organization, and expertise through schema markup and credible writing.
How is E-E-A-T connected to GEO?
E-E-A-T defines what human credibility looks like — experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. GEO translates those same ideas into machine-readable form using entities, schema, and structured content. Together, they help both humans and AI understand and trust your expertise.
What’s the most important trust signal to include on every page?
A clear author identity with credentials and affiliations. Use a byline like:
“Written by Professor Kent Lundin, Professor of Digital Marketing, BYU–Idaho.”
Then connect that identity to your About page, LinkedIn, and organization schema so AI systems can verify who you are.
Does linking to other websites improve trust?
Yes — when links point to credible, relevant entities such as universities, research studies, or industry standards. Each outbound link expands your authority graph and helps AI systems confirm that your content aligns with reputable sources.
Do backlinks still matter in GEO?
Backlinks remain useful, but their role has changed. Instead of ranking signals, they now serve as verification signals — confirming that your entity is recognized and referenced in reliable contexts.
How can I show expertise without sounding promotional?
Use an educational tone that teaches instead of sells. Replace superlatives (“best,” “amazing”) with specifics (“increased AI citation accuracy by 18%”). Include short, fact-based examples that demonstrate real experience.
How often should I update authoritative content?
At least every few months. AI models refresh their training data, so updating your examples, statistics, and schema markup keeps your credibility current. Display a visible “Last updated” date to signal freshness.
What kind of schema markup improves trust the most?
Include:
Person(for the author)Organization(for affiliation)WebPageorArticle(for context)sameAslinks (for external profiles)
This creates a verifiable chain between your content, identity, and organization.
Can small businesses or creators build authority without big credentials?
Absolutely. Share real-world experience, document case studies, cite local or niche expertise, and maintain consistent author transparency. Experience and honesty often carry more weight than titles alone.
How do I know if AI trusts my website?
Test retrieval. Ask tools like Perplexity.ai or ChatGPT questions your site answers. If your content appears in summaries or citations, your authority and schema are working as intended.
