When buyers ask ChatGPT or Claude about your industry, AI answers with the sources it trusts most. In the latest episode of PR Bites, Nicolás Seguro, Chief AI Officer at Fardo, explains where LLMs get their information and how companies can get cited. Plus, new data shows that 75% of LinkedIn citations in AI answers come from personal profiles, not company pages.

AI platforms now answer questions about your brand before your website does, and they build those answers from the sources they trust most. In the latest episode of PR Bites, MarketCross's podcast on communications and reputation, we spoke with Nicolás Seguro, Chief AI Officer at Fardo, about where large language models (LLMs) get their information and what companies can do to be cited by them.

The short answer: in the age of AI, reputation is the strategy. Here is what that means in practice.

Where does AI learn which brands are trustworthy?

AI learns which brands to trust from credible third parties, not from what brands say about themselves. According to Nicolás Seguro, three sources carry the most weight:

  • Earned media coverage. Editorial articles in respected outlets act as independent validation. Content clearly labeled as sponsored
  • YouTube. Interviews, talks and explainer videos give AI models rich, attributable content about people, companies and ideas.
  • LinkedIn, especially personal profiles. Posts and articles written by executives and experts are cited far more often than corporate pages. AI favors a recognizable human voice with real expertise over polished brand messaging.

The common thread is credibility. When an AI tool decides what to say about your industry, it looks for who is talking about you, not just what you publish on your own channels.

Why do personal LinkedIn profiles matter so much for AI visibility?

75% of LinkedIn citations in AI-generated answers come from individual member profiles, and only 25% from company pages. That is the key finding of a 2026 study by Meltwater and LinkedIn, which analyzed 9.5 million AI citations across B2B categories and major AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot and Claude.

The same research found that LinkedIn ranks as the second most-cited source in AI answers for B2B searches. Platforms built around people and their content (LinkedIn, Reddit and YouTube) account for 47.5% of AI citations, compared with 18.7% for company websites.

For business leaders, the implication is direct: your executives' personal profiles may be the main way your brand shows up when buyers ask AI about your industry. Thought leadership is no longer a nice-to-have. It is a visibility channel.

Is SEO dead because of AI?

No. SEO is not dead; AI search and SEO now work together. Every new technology seems to arrive with a funeral. SEO, social media and long-form content have all been declared dead more than once, and all of them are still here.

AI does not replace search optimization, it adds a new layer to it. Well-structured, authoritative content that ranks in search engines is also the kind of content AI tools are more likely to read and cite. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) builds on solid SEO rather than replacing it. Brands that invest in both stay visible wherever their audience is looking.

##What makes the difference when everyone uses AI?

Human judgment and proprietary knowledge make the difference. Using AI is no longer an advantage in itself, because almost everyone has access to the same tools. The edge belongs to those who know what criteria, experience and original insight to add to what the tool delivers.

This is where communications strategy matters. Knowing which story to tell, which outlet will give it credibility, which executive should be its voice and how to adapt it to each audience is work that AI can support but not lead. Brands that combine AI efficiency with expert human judgment produce content that is distinctive, trustworthy and, as a result, more likely to be cited.

##How can your brand get cited by AI?

1. Earn credible media coverage. Independent editorial articles remain one of the strongest trust signals for AI. 2. Activate your leaders on LinkedIn. Help executives and experts publish regularly from their personal profiles, with clear structure, concrete data and a point of view. 3. Show up on video. Interviews, webinars and talks on YouTube create attributable content AI can draw from. 4. Keep investing in SEO. Authoritative, well-structured content serves both search engines and AI. 5. Add what only you know. Original insight and expert judgment are what make content worth citing.

##Frequently asked questions

What sources do AI tools use to talk about brands? They rely heavily on third-party content: media coverage, user-driven platforms such as LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit, and authoritative websites.

Do LinkedIn company pages still matter? Yes. They account for about a quarter of LinkedIn citations in AI answers, but executive profiles carry most of the weight.

What is GEO? Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of making a brand visible and accurately described in AI-generated answers. It complements SEO.

Listen to the full episode Want to hear Nicolás Seguro's recommendations firsthand? Listen to PR Bites, episode 2: En la era de la IA, la reputación es clave (in Spanish). Listen on [Spotify] (https://open.spotify.com/episode/1z1dwnOxy5sagRVPrH9jWk)

Find out how AI describes your brand today. At MarketCross, we help companies build the reputation that both people and AI trust, through media relations, executive thought leadership and content strategy. Let's talk