How AI is reshaping what ranks in search

In the early days of SEO, authority was a crude concept. In the early 2000s, ranking well often came down to how you can game PageRank effectively. Buy enough links, repeat the right keywords, and visibility will follow. It was mechanical, compact, and remarkably easy to use.

Two decades later, that version of the search is completely gone. Algorithms are mature. So is Google’s understanding of brands, people, and real-world reputation.

In a world increasingly shaped by AI-powered acquisitions, authority is no longer secondary – it’s a primary goal. This is the logical conclusion of a long, deliberate evolution in search.

From links to legitimacy: How authority evolved

Google’s first big step in the fight against counterfeiting came with Penguin, which forced the industry to change. This is when “digital PR” started to emerge as a more palatable framework than link building.

Google also started exploring business-based insights. The author’s photos appeared in the search results. Information panels appeared. Brands, authors, and organizations were treated less like URLs and more like linked entities.

Although experiments like Google’s identity were eventually abandoned, the direction was clear. Google is redefining how it evaluates website and brand authority.

Instead of asking, “Who is linking to this page?” algorithms are increasingly asking, “Who wrote this content, and how is it being recognized elsewhere?”

That change has only accelerated in the past 12 months, as AI-driven search experiences have made the trend impossible to ignore.

Dive Deeper: From SEO to Algorithmic Learning: A Guide for Long-Term Brand Authorities

Useful content and conclusion of the mandate

Integration of a useful content system into Google’s core algorithm marked a turning point. Sites that built visibility by over-preparing saw their organic performance erode overnight. In contrast, brands that demonstrate depth, knowledge, and strong brand authority have gained ground.

Search engines are now much better at checking whether content reflects organic technology. Highly optimized sites – those with relatively high link metrics but limited brand recognition – have struggled as a result.

In recent core reviews, large, well-known brands have consistently outperformed smaller sites that are strong but lack brand authority. Authority, not efficiency, has become the key differentiator.

Major language models (LLMs) study the open web: journalism, reviews, forums, social media, video transcripts, and expert commentary. Reputation is defined by the quantity, consistency, and context of product mentions.

This has profound implications for how brands approach SEO.

Reddit, Quora, LinkedIn, YouTube, and trusted review forums like G2 are among the most cited sources for AI search results. These are not areas that you can fully control. They show what people are actually saying about your product, not what it says about you.

In other words, authority is now externally asserted – and much harder to influence. Visibility is no longer driven solely by what happens on your website. Build a compelling way for your brand to emerge from the wider digital ecosystem.

This is not the end of Google

Market share data continues to show Google controls more than 90% of global search usage, while AI platforms account for a fraction of referral traffic. Even among heavy users of ChatGPT, most still rely on Google as part of their search behavior.

Google is absorbing AI-style responses into its interface through AI Overview, AI Mode, and other productivity enhancements. Users are not abandoning Google. They experience AI within it.

The opportunity is in a building manager that works in both traditional and AI-mediated search environments. I’ve written before about the concept of creating a comprehensive search strategy.

Brand building is the new multiplier for SEO

One of the more confusing things for SEO practitioners is that some of the most effective authority signs live outside of traditional search channels.

Digital PR, product marketing, events, partnerships, and even offline work have a huge impact on organic performance. A physical event can create listings on event platforms, local news coverage, and lively social discussion – each of which includes a broader sense of legitimacy. This is where paid and organic disciplines begin to intersect.

Brand awareness improves click-through rates. Common words attract quotes. Being mentioned on YouTube or in long-form journalism reinforces the authority of articles in ways that links alone cannot. We even saw a recent study showing YouTube comments as the top factor associated with AI attribution.

As someone who works in both paid and organic strategies, I see this effect over and over again. Strong brands don’t just convert better – they’re now inherently better, too.

Dig deeper: The new need for SEO: Building your brand

Functional framework: Three pillars of authority

Building authority requires a holistic approach – one that starts with a brand strategy, understanding the category, and a broader set of tactics than traditional SEO.

I have developed a simple framework that ensures a consistent focus on three key pillars:

1. Category authority: Owning the truth, not just traffic

This is about defining how class itself is understood, not just competition within it. Authorities start the peak of content production, with a clear vision of what is important, what is outdated, and what is unclear.

Instead of chasing keywords, the goal is to be the point of reference that others defer to when making sense of the space. These are search engine rankings and LLMs are increasingly rewarding because they demonstrate real expertise rather than tactical development.

2. Canonical authority: Creating definitive definitions

If a divisional authority sets up a belief system, the official authority implements it. This is when brands invest in content that is definition-first and answers questions in a meaningful way, not superficially.

Canonical definitions are designed to be cited, reused, and reinterpreted across the ecosystem: journalists, analysts, creators, platforms, and AI systems. They form the backbone of the content infrastructure – hubs, guides, FAQs, and explainers that are structurally sound, regularly updated, and clearly approved.

In an AI-enabled search environment, these assets become the raw material models they learn from and reference, making them central to long-term visibility.

3. Distributed authority: Proving legitimacy beyond your website

What matters is not just what you publish, but how your product appears on all the platforms you don’t control. This includes:

• PR coverage.
• Publicly talked about.
• Video platforms.
• Communities.
• Updates.
• Events.
• Even the product experience.

Distribution and amplification are not considerations. They are the means by which authority is tested by social pressure. Consistent, reliable presence across these areas feeds both human perception and algorithmic inference, strengthening validity at scale.

Dive deep: How paid, earned, shared, and owned media search visibility is shaping up

Building authority goes beyond chasing algorithms

All search results return the same selection. You can react – you can interpret updates, adjust tactics, and hope that the next revolution will be in your favor.

Or you can invest in becoming a recognized authority in your area. This requires patience, multi-channel collaboration, and real investment. But it’s the only method that’s proven to be robust across decades of algorithmic change.

Influencer tactics today feel less like legacy SEO and more like old-fashioned marketing and PR: building authority, attention, and influencing demand instead of engineering visibility.

There is no doubt that Google will continue to evolve. AI systems will mature. New discovery platforms will emerge. None of this changes the basic truth: Authority has always been a very difficult signal to achieve – and a very important one once established.