Answers · AI Visibility

What is topic authority?

The short answer

Topic authority describes how strongly AI systems connect a brand with a topic field and credit it with competence there. High topic authority means the brand gets named and recommended on questions about that topic — instead of its competitors.

Topic fields instead of individual keywords

Classic SEO thinks in keywords and rankings. AI systems think in topics and entities: they assign companies to entire fields of competence — “marketing automation”, “corporate law”, “predictive maintenance”. That assignment decides who appears in answers and recommendations.

Topic authority is therefore more strategic than any single prompt placement: it describes a brand’s position in topic space, not the outcome of one query.

How to spot missing topic authority

Typical symptoms that keep showing up in scans:

AI names competitors on topics the company objectively covers better
The brand is only connected to a single topic — the breadth is missing
AI describes the company incorrectly or with outdated information
External sources mention competitors more often than the company’s own site warrants

Measuring and building topic authority

The Infera scan measures topic authority per AI system and topic cluster — in direct comparison with three to five competitors. From the result come prioritised measures: which content, structures and external signals are missing so AI systems categorise the brand correctly.

Which topics does AI connect with your brand?

The Infera scan shows you — €249 one-off, fixed price, a clear view of the results.

Scan my brand