The New AI Search Paradigm: Understanding PESO and Public Relations - A 3 Part Series
A Guide to AI for SMBs, Entrepreneurs and Enterprises
Welcome to part two of a three-part series exploring the PESO Model in the Age of AI.
E-E-A-T: For Generative Engine Optimization, the New Foundation for Trust, Visibility, and Engagement
E-E-A-T, or Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, and is more than SEO jargon. It’s about real-world credibility that both AI and users recognize.
It’s All About You: Share Your Expertise and Experience
This is about first-hand involvement—showing you’ve been there. Case studies, testimonials, personal narratives all strengthen this.
Fly Your Flag: With AI-Powered Search, You Can’t Be Shy About Your Expertise
AI and Google reward content crafted by those who know their field. Credentials, certifications, and in-depth insights matter. In a world formerly dominated by mass market tactics, the deep experience of the committed professional is the new king of qualified search results.
Don’t Forget the Expertise of Others: Authoritativeness From Other Experts Is Highly Valuable
External validation is still important. Backlinks from respected sites, trusted media features, industry engagement, and mentions all provide this validation and signal that others trust your expertise and the content it produces.
Trustworthiness
Be sure your website has the digital markers of trustworthiness that prospects can rely on. Be transparent. Have a secure website, clear and accessible privacy policies, easy to find contact information, and correct sourcing . These underscore the trustworthiness of your site—and your company mission.
Let’s Get to Work: Implementation Tips for SMBs and Enterprises:
● Feature biographies for authors with their real names, credentials, and links to LinkedIn or professional profiles.
● Use the power of technical web structure for articles, FAQs, authors, and even reviews. Schema markup is structured code data for your website that helps search technology better understand it. This may be something worth bringing in a good SEO/AI professional to implement.
● Publish original, valuable research insights. Trends and surveys (e.g., “2025 Stockholm SMB PR Trends”) are very valuable content. AI loves original data, just be accurate, transparent, and cite your sources.
● Implement clear information that offers accessible details and contact information for company representatives, privacy policy, and return policies (if applicable).
Make it real: As Google’s John Mueller emphasized, you can’t simply “add E-E-A-T” to a page. It’s earned, not tacked on. Still, embedding credibility signals isn’t “adding EEAT.” It’s showcasing what’s already there: real experience, measurable expertise, recognized authority, and trust.
As AI continues to reshape how audiences find and trust brands, understanding why the PESO model still matters is just the beginning. The next step is learning how to make your content visible, credible, and accessible — not only to people, but to the AI systems that now define digital discovery.
In Part Two of The PESO Model in the Age of AI series, we’ll take a deeper look at Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and E-E-A-T — the frameworks that help AI recognize authentic expertise and reward it with visibility. You’ll learn how to structure content that both humans and algorithms trust, and how SMBs can start building true digital authority in the AI era.
By Pam Abrahamsson, Founder and CEO, PRA Public Relations
and Maria Dykstra, Global AI/GEO/SEO Expert, Founder, TreDigital
