E-E-A-T
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is Google's framework for evaluating content quality, originally focused on YMYL topics but expanded to all verticals after the March 2026 Core Update.
The Four Pillars
- Experience — Does the content creator have first-hand experience with the topic?
- Expertise — Does the creator have the knowledge or skill to cover the topic accurately?
- Authoritativeness — Is the creator or site recognized as a go-to source for this topic?
- Trustworthiness — Is the content accurate, transparent, and honest?
E-E-A-T for AI Engines
AI engines use similar quality signals when selecting citation sources. ChatGPT and Perplexity favor content from sites with strong authorship signals, consistent entity references, and established topical authority. Structured data — especially Person, Organization, and author schema — directly communicates E-E-A-T signals to both Google and AI engines.
Related Terms
- Pressure SEO — Methodology that operationalizes E-E-A-T signals
- Trust Swap — Transferring authority through entity relationships
- YMYL — Topics requiring the highest E-E-A-T standards