Ever felt pressure to make yourself—or your brand—sound bigger, broader or more qualified because your core strengths don’t feel like enough?

Francesca Belmer nearly talked herself out of delivering this session because she isn’t a day-to-day SEO practitioner. Then she realised that trying to sound like one would undermine the very story she wanted to tell.

When we doubt whether our real strengths are enough, we often compensate by trying to sound like we can do everything.

Brands do it too: agencies list every possible service, websites make broad claims and content teams cover more topics in the hope that greater breadth will create greater visibility.

Francesca’s job at Yext is turning insights into stories that mean something.

When she recently explored 17 million AI citation data points and consumer research, Francesca found revealing patterns in the sources AI search cites—and how much of that process brands can influence.

86% of AI citations come from sources brands can influence.

But AI doesn’t simply accept what you say about yourself. Much like people, it cross-checks your claims against third-party listings, reviews and the other places you appear online.

You’ll learn:

• What the citation and consumer research reveal about the sources AI search uses
• How AI validates your claims against third-party sources
• Why specific searches can lead AI to dedicated pages rather than generic homepages
• How to identify (& own!) the strengths your customers already associate with you
• A practical framework for turning “we do it all” into specific, credible expertise

The answer isn’t to perform more authority. It’s to own what you genuinely do well and make that expertise easy for people—and AI—to recognise.