Agent Experiences

Trust & Authority Signals

Building credibility for AI agents requires implementing specific trust signals that help agents assess the reliability and authority of your content.

Trust and authority signals are critical indicators that help AI agents assess the credibility and reliability of your content. These signals directly influence whether agents will cite your content as a trusted source.

Author Credibility

Expert Author Profiles

Agents prioritize content from identifiable experts with verifiable credentials:

<div itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Person">
  <h3 itemprop="name">Dr. Sarah Chen</h3>
  <p itemprop="jobTitle">Senior Database Engineer</p>
  <div itemprop="worksFor" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/Organization">
    <span itemprop="name">TechCorp</span>
  </div>
  <ul>
    <li itemprop="hasCredential">PhD Computer Science, MIT</li>
    <li itemprop="hasCredential">15+ years database engineering</li>
  </ul>
</div>

Source Attribution

Proper Citations

Always attribute information to primary sources with specific details:

✅ Good Citation

According to the 2024 Database Performance Report by TechAnalytics, query response times improved by 34% year-over-year.

Source: TechAnalytics Database Performance Report 2024, published January 15, 2024

❌ Poor Citation

Studies show that database performance has improved significantly in recent years.

Data Accuracy and Precision

Specific, Measurable Claims

Agents prefer precise, verifiable information over vague statements:

❌
Avoid: "Our database is incredibly fast and handles tons of data efficiently."
✅
Use: "Our database processes 10,000 queries per second with an average response time of 50 milliseconds."

Content Maintenance Signals

Publication and Update Dates

Clear timestamps help agents assess content freshness and relevance:

<div class="content-dates">
  <time itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2024-01-15">
    Published: January 15, 2024
  </time>
  <time itemprop="dateModified" datetime="2024-02-10">
    Last Updated: February 10, 2024
  </time>
</div>

External Validation

Third-Party Endorsements

Recognition from industry organizations and peer reviews strengthen authority:

  • Featured in industry publications
  • Cited by academic papers
  • Recommended by official documentation
  • Peer-reviewed by subject matter experts

Trust Signal Checklist

  • Author credentials and expertise clearly displayed
  • Publication and update dates in ISO format
  • Proper source attribution and citations
  • Specific, measurable claims over vague statements
  • Content review and fact-checking indicators
  • Organizational credibility markers
  • Version control and change documentation