Backlinks aren't dead in the age of AI search; they're more valuable than ever. As ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews reshape how people discover information, the old rules of search engine optimization are colliding with new ones. The result: companies that build strong off-page presence now compete on two fronts simultaneously, and the strategies that worked for Google are increasingly working for AI-powered answer engines too.

How Are AI Search Engines Using Links and Mentions to Rank Sources?

When AI systems like Perplexity decide which sources to cite in their answers, they're not starting from scratch. Research shows that at least one domain from Google's traditional top 10 organic results appears as a source in more than 92% of AI Overviews studied. That overlap is significant, but it's not the whole story.

Large language models (LLMs), the AI systems powering tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT, pull information from a broad network of sources during training and generation. In that environment, traditional backlinks still matter, but something else has gained equal weight: brand mentions on trusted third-party sites. A study of more than 75,000 brands found that brands in the top quartile for web mentions appear in more than 10 times as many AI Overviews as brands in the next quartile.

This creates a new optimization challenge. Marketers now need to think about visibility across two connected systems: traditional SEO for Google rankings and what experts call Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), which focuses specifically on appearing in AI-generated answers. The good news is that the strategies overlap significantly.

What Trust Signals Do Both Google and AI Systems Look For?

Google's approach to links has become more nuanced in recent years. The search giant no longer needs massive quantities of backlinks to rank a page; instead, quality and relevance matter far more. A single editorial link from a respected industry publication can outweigh 100 links from web directories. This shift toward quality over quantity aligns perfectly with how AI systems evaluate sources.

Both Google and LLMs rely on similar trust signals to determine whether a source is credible. Google evaluates links through the lens of E-E-A-T, which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. A backlink from a respected industry publication signals to Google that a page is a trusted source on a particular topic. AI systems rely on many of the same signals.

The AirOps 2026 State of AI Search Report makes this pattern explicit: 85% of all brand mentions in AI answers come from third-party sites, not from a company's own website. What others write about you matters as much as what you publish yourself. Additionally, research shows that nofollow and followed links show nearly identical correlations with AI visibility, suggesting that for LLMs, the context of a link matters more than its technical attributes.

How to Build Off-Page Presence for Both Google and AI Visibility

• Create Original Data and Research: Industry surveys, proprietary analyses, and customer data insights attract high-quality backlinks and are exactly the kind of content AI systems prefer to cite. According to research, content with statistics increases AI visibility by 22%, and quotable expert statements increase it by 37%. You don't need a large-scale study; even an analysis of your own customer data or a survey with 200 participants can generate significant results.
• Build a Co-Mention Network: Every mention of your brand in industry comparisons, expert articles, or "best of" lists strengthens your co-mention network, which is how often your name appears alongside relevant topics. This pattern is exactly what LLMs use to decide which brands to recommend in their answers.
• Maintain Presence Across Multiple Platforms: Websites with a presence on four or more platforms are 2.8 times more likely to appear in ChatGPT answers. Community platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and LinkedIn account for 48% of all AI citations, making multi-channel visibility essential for modern search optimization.
• Update Content Regularly: Pages without quarterly updates lose visibility in AI answers three times faster than regularly updated content. Consistency signals to both Google and AI systems that your information remains current and relevant.

The shift toward AI-powered search hasn't eliminated the value of traditional link building; it has expanded it. A case study from performanceLiebe illustrates this pattern: when the agency placed three targeted expert articles in industry publications for a health ecommerce client, organic rankings rose noticeably. Within a few weeks, the store started appearing in ChatGPT recommendations for its product category. That wasn't coincidence; it was the result of building authority through trusted third-party sources.

In 2026, off-page SEO is no longer just about building links. It means creating a broad network of mentions and references across different platforms, maintaining regular content updates, and earning visibility in the places where both search engines and AI systems look for trustworthy information. The companies winning in this new landscape are those treating Google rankings and AI visibility not as separate challenges, but as two sides of the same authority-building strategy.