Original Research for AEO: How to Publish Data AI Engines Quote
Statistics and first-hand data are among the easiest things for AI engines to quote. How small teams can run useful research and publish it so the numbers get cited, with your name attached.
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Last updated: 30 October 2026
Quick answer: Publish data no one else has: a survey of your customers, anonymised numbers from your own work, a benchmark you ran, or a dataset you compiled. Put each key finding in a single clear sentence with the number, the sample and the date, on a crawlable page with a method section. AI engines and journalists quote specific, sourced numbers far more readily than opinions.
When an assistant writes a long answer, it looks for facts it can state with confidence and attribute to a source. A sentence in the form “In a survey of [number] Indian D2C founders in [month and year], [X]% said…” is ideal material. Opinion pieces rarely are. Research also earns the outside mentions that AI engines use to judge which brands are credible, because other writers link to the source of a number they use.
Key takeaways
- Specific numbers with a stated sample and date are among the most quotable things you can publish.
- The 2023 GEO study found adding statistics and citations improved visibility in generative answers.
- Small, honest studies beat large vague ones. State the sample size and limits.
- Write every key finding as one standalone sentence.
- Promote the findings so other sites cite you as the source.
Research a small team can actually run
| Type | Example | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Customer or industry survey | “How 200 clinics choose software” | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Anonymised internal data | “What we saw across 50 audits this year” | 1 to 2 weeks |
| Benchmark or test | “We asked 5 AI assistants 100 buyer questions” | 1 to 3 weeks |
| Compiled dataset | “Prices of 40 tools in one table, checked monthly” | Days, then upkeep |
| Expert panel | “12 CFOs on AI budgets for 2027” | 2 to 3 weeks |
These are example study ideas, not published studies. Pick a question your buyers genuinely ask and that the market has no good number for. That gap is where your data becomes the default source.
How to publish findings so they get quoted
- Lead with the headline numbers. Three to five key findings at the top, each as a full sentence with the figure.
- One finding, one sentence. Each finding should make sense if lifted out on its own.
- Show the method. Who you asked, how many, when, how they were selected, and the main limitations.
- Use HTML tables, not images. Charts are fine for people, but put the numbers in text too.
- Name the authors. A real person with relevant experience makes the work easier to trust. See author pages for AEO.
- Give it a stable URL. Update it yearly instead of publishing a new page each time, so citations keep pointing to one place.
Getting the data cited by others
- Send the key findings to journalists and newsletter writers who cover your industry.
- Offer a short quote and a chart they can use with attribution.
- Share individual findings on LinkedIn and in relevant communities, linking back to the method.
- Add the research to your own service and comparison pages where it is relevant.
Each mention on a site AI engines already trust strengthens the link between your brand and the topic.
What to avoid
- Leading questions that produce the answer you wanted.
- Tiny samples presented as industry-wide truth.
- Old data with no date, which engines and readers cannot judge.
- Numbers that only appear inside a downloadable PDF.
A simple research plan for a first study
- Week 1: choose the question. Pick one question your buyers ask that has no good public number. Write down the three findings you hope to be able to state.
- Week 1: design the survey or dataset. Ten to fifteen questions, mostly multiple choice, with one or two open questions for quotes.
- Weeks 2 to 3: collect. Use your customer list, newsletter, LinkedIn network or industry groups. Track how many people you invited and how many answered.
- Week 4: analyse and write. Lead with the clearest findings, add the method and limits, and write a short commentary on what the numbers mean.
- Week 4 onwards: publish and pitch. Publish on a permanent URL, then share individual findings with journalists, partners and communities.
Writing findings that travel
Compare a vague sentence with a quotable one. Vague: “Many businesses are struggling with AI visibility.” Quotable, in this form: “Of the [number] marketing leads we surveyed in [month and year], [X]% could not say how often their brand appears in ChatGPT answers.” The second has a number, a sample, a date and a clear claim. It can be quoted by a journalist, cited by an AI engine and checked by a reader. Write every key finding in that form, using your real figures.
Add a short “How to cite this research” line with the title, your organisation name and the URL. It costs nothing and makes correct attribution more likely.
Want help turning your data into citations? See our AI Citation Optimization service.
Frequently asked questions
How large does a survey need to be?
Large enough to be honest about. A clearly described sample of 100 to 300 people in a defined group is often useful. State the size and who was included.
Can I use data from client work?
Only with permission and properly anonymised. Aggregated patterns across many projects are usually safer than single case figures.
Should research be gated behind a form?
Put the key findings and method on an open page so crawlers and writers can read them. Gate the full report if you want leads.
How long before research earns citations?
Pages can be picked up within weeks, but citations from other sites usually build over several months as people find and reuse the numbers.
Sources
- GEO: Generative Engine Optimization, Aggarwal et al., arXiv, 2023
- Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content, Google Search Central
Product details, prices and features are checked at the time of writing and can change. Sources are linked in the text so you can check them yourself.
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