SEPTEMBER 22, 2026 — In a recent article, SparkToro's Chief Evangelist discussed how searchers help shape what AI says about brands and included insights from Seer Interactive CEO Wil Reynolds. The article quotes Wil on how human trust and behaviors are the foundation behind AI and algorithms.
According to Wil, "Google and AI are just proxies for human trust." He pointed out how AI platforms tend to look beyond what a company says about itself and for evidence to support or disprove those claims, often in the form of reviews, comments, and other trust signals.
Wil also discussed how it's possible to shift the narrative AI is spreading about your brand. He mentioned Seer's experience of seeing AI platforms repeatedly surface criticism about high turnover at the company, and how the team was able to correct the false narrative and shift the story AI platforms were telling.
We analyzed 28k AI responses about Seer Interactive and found that the top AI platforms were almost always correct when they answered a branded prompt (95.9% on average). But the AI platforms also declined to answer prompts about Seer 31% of the time - suggesting there were still quite a few questions about our brand where AI didn't have enough trust signals to feel comfortable answering.
As Semrush points out, evidence and information from people outside of your brand are top trust signals for AI platforms. What people are saying about your brand is often shaping the narrative AI tells. It's in your best interest to understand what others are saying and identify the areas where you can help influence that narrative. (You can run your own version of our brand accuracy study to find out.)
* Focus on building trust with your audience: If you're relying heavily on AI-generated content, you're probably undermining your brand trust efforts. Prioritize content that provides value for your audience or addresses a customer problem. Choose high-quality, intentional content and strategies over "gaming" AI platforms with tons of AI slop.
* Don't get too caught up in AI vanity metrics: AI brand visibility is only one piece of the puzzle, and the models change too often for those data points to hold much weight right now. Yes you should update your KPIs to reflect the AI search era, but don't forget to do the groundwork of building connections with your audience and convincing them to buy your product or service.
At Seer, we've started helping clients build what we call a brand canon and making sure the narrative about their brand matches what they want it to say, which then feeds into AI platforms. We can help you too if you're interested - chat with us to learn more.
Check out the SparkToro article: What's Next for Your Brand Website?
Catch up on our Seer research about brand accuracy: Study: AI Declined Prompts About Our Brand 31% of the Time (But Got Our Info Mostly Right When It Answered)
Read Wil's latest thoughts: Find all the latest insights from Wil on the Seer blog