Original Research: The Secret Weapon for SEO and AI Search in 2025

Grace Windsor
Jul 23, 2025

Let’s get one thing straight: SEO isn’t going anywhere.

But the old playbook—optimise for Google, rank #1, get clicks—isn’t enough anymore. Google’s AI Overviews now give users direct answers. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini… they’re all reshaping how people find and consume information.

Most of your traffic won’t come from clicks. It’ll come from being quoted by machines.

If you’re not the source they cite, you’re invisible.

That’s what this article is about. It’s not a technical how-to. I’m not covering schema markup or page speed. (If that’s what you’re after, I’ll link to a few great resources at the end.)

Instead, this is about how original research helps your brand stand out in both traditional search and the new wave of AI-powered results—and why being original matters more than being optimised.

 

Search is no longer one game

Not long ago, ranking on Google meant everything. Now? Search is splintering.

Users are toggling between:

  • Google (still dominant but declining in clicks)
  • ChatGPT (with browsing or plugins)
  • Perplexity (real-time citations)
  • Bing Chat, You.com, Reddit, Quora, LinkedIn posts

We’re moving from 1–2 dominant players to a mix of platforms, each with their own rules, formats, and opportunities. Some reward long-form explainers. Some pull structured comparisons. Some prioritise citations. Others emphasise freshness, authority, or unique data.

The new search mix is shaping up like this:

  • SEO = Ranking on Google’s traditional results.
  • AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) = Structuring content so it shows up in featured snippets or AI Overviews.
  • GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) = Creating original content that generative AI can cite and synthesise.

Cloudflare’s new "Pay-Per-Crawl" model also signals another change in how LLMs access content: free to crawl, blocked, or pay for access. This could fragment the search ecosystem even further—where only certain bots, platforms, or models get access to specific content. That raises the stakes for being the preferred or licensed source.

Your content now needs to work across all of these. And the brands that figure this out first will own the conversation for years.

 

Why traditional SEO still matters

Let’s not toss out the SEO basics. Ranking still matters. A #1 result on Google has a 25% chance of appearing in an AI Overview.

The shift is now from the "most optimised page" to the "most relevant answer". 

That means your content still needs:

  • Search intent alignment
  • Clear structure (headings, FAQs, summaries)
  • Strong user engagement signals (time on page, clicks, links)

But it also needs to deliver something different: clarity, utility, and credibility above the fold. Can a model like ChatGPT summarise your piece into a tight, helpful, accurate answer?

Generic content won't cut it. AI doesn’t need a fifth take on "5 Email Marketing Tips." It needs insights that stand out—content that demonstrates first-hand knowledge and gives the model a reason to cite you, not just another URL.

 

Why EEAT matters more than ever (and not just for Google)

Google’s EEAT framework—Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness—has always been important. But it now doubles as a visibility score for AI engines, too.

  • Experience = Can you show real-world involvement? (Case studies, customer quotes, original research)
  • Expertise = Are you qualified to speak on this? (Clear POV, smart interpretation, contextual nuance)
  • Authoritativeness = Are others citing or linking to your content?
  • Trustworthiness = Do you disclose methods, dates, sources?

AI engines lean heavily on these same signals when deciding what to include in generated answers. Especially in high-consideration or B2B categories, models are more likely to surface content that includes:

  • Original insights or benchmarks
  • Clear methodology
  • Quotes from known experts
  • Frequent mentions across trusted platforms.

If your brand has original research that gets linked, shared, and cited—you’re building authority across both human and machine audiences.

 

What counts as original research? (It's more achievable than you think)

You don’t need to be Gartner or Forrester to publish research.

Original research can be:

  • A short customer survey on current challenges or priorities
  • A dataset you own (usage data, internal benchmarks, pricing trends)
  • Synthesised insights from 10+ expert interviews
  • Patterns you’ve noticed in qualitative feedback
  • A pulse check on market shifts, run through LinkedIn polls or email lists

The bar isn’t academic rigour. The bar is useful, verifiable, and novel.

AI engines and journalists alike are looking for something that feels like a source. Even a 1-page PDF with a few good charts and quotes can meet that bar if it’s cited well and promoted smartly.

 

The strategic value of research (beyond clicks)

Here's what original research actually delivers in the new search landscape:

  • AI visibility: LLMs prioritise clarity, originality, and EEAT signals when selecting sources.
  • SEO performance: Research drives backlinks, shares, and longer time on page—all traditional ranking factors. Fresh, high-quality research gets crawled more often and favoured in indexes.
  • Content flywheel: A single research piece can fuel blog posts, LinkedIn threads, sales collateral, PR outreach, webinars, and roundtables for months.
  • Brand positioning: Being the source of data or insight positions you as an authority—not a commentator. This matters more when buyers are evaluating expertise through AI-filtered information.
  • Cost efficiency: One well-executed research piece often generates more qualified leads than 20 optimised blog posts covering the same ground as everyone else.

 

How to get started: A simple research strategy for modern search

You don’t need a massive budget or team to start. Here’s a simple path:

Step 1: Spot the gap
Find a question your customers are asking that AI can’t answer well. Look for topics that are too new, too niche, or too lightly covered to show up in ChatGPT or Google AI Overviews.

Step 2: Build the insight
Run a short survey, talk to five customers, or pull anonymised data from your CRM. Focus on clarity, not complexity.

Step 3: Make it usable
Structure matters. Use headings, summaries, and charts. Share methodology and context. Highlight the key takeaways up top.

Step 4: Share it like a campaign
This isn’t "publish and pray." Share it on LinkedIn. Offer quotes to journalists. Slice it into posts, threads, emails, and sales decks.

Step 5: Track how it travels
Watch for backlinks, citations, and visibility in tools like Perplexity or Bing Chat. Over time, these signals compound.

Original research earns you more than just views. It earns influence across both human and machine-driven channels.

Wrapping up: Be the source AI can’t ignore

Content is everywhere. Insight isn’t.

If you want your brand to show up in AI answers, you can’t just optimise. You have to originate.

That means:

  • Saying something new.
  • Backing it with real data.
  • Making it easy to cite.

In the new search economy, the winners aren’t the ones who rank first. They’re the ones worth quoting.

Planning your next content campaign? Let’s make research part of it. We’ll find the questions your audience is asking—and create the answers no one else has. Get in touch.

Resources for going deeper

This article focused on the strategic shift rather than the technical implementation. If you're ready to dive into the nuts and bolts of optimising for AI search, here are the resources that'll get you there:


 

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