Content Strategy

Strategy for the retrieval layer. We build frameworks that perform across human attention and AI evaluation - content that gets cited, not just consumed.

And increasingly, they're not reading it at all. AI systems are reading it for them, deciding whether your expertise is worth citing when someone asks the questions that drive purchasing decisions. This shift requires both strategic content frameworks and technical optimization approaches that ensure your expertise gets discovered and cited by AI systems.

The Real Cost of Sounding Like Everyone Else

Generic messaging doesn't just fail to engage—it actively commoditizes your business. But here's what's worse: when AI systems encounter the same "innovative solutions" language across thousands of websites, your content becomes invisible to the retrieval layer.

Research from Brown University found that content with unique perspectives is more likely to be utilized and referenced by AI systems compared to generic industry messaging.

A plumeria company shipping cuttings to the mainland came to us frustrated that customers kept haggling over shipping costs. Their messaging focused on "premium quality plants" and "fast shipping," the same promises every plant seller makes. When prospects asked ChatGPT about Hawaiian plumerias, they weren't mentioned. This was because sellers based in California and Florida were also selling "Hawaiian plumerias." But, this seller had a better origin story.

Their real story was completely different: island-grown cuttings hand-rooted in volcanic soil, shipped with the care of someone sending family heirlooms. Once they started talking about what made them genuinely different, two things happened: price conversations disappeared, and AI systems began citing them as "specialists in authentic Hawaiian plant cultivation."

The pattern repeats everywhere: clear voices get cited by AI systems and invited into strategy conversations. Generic ones get treated like vendors, or ignored entirely. Developing this clarity requires systematic brand voice development that goes beyond messaging to fundamental positioning and communication strategy.

Why Content Strategies Fail in the Retrieval Era

The standard approach optimizes for publishing frequency and channel distribution. Editorial calendars packed with "thought leadership" that sounds exactly like everyone else's thought leadership.

Most marketing firms will tell you that 73% of B2B content uses identical positioning language within industry verticals. When AI systems evaluate content for citation authority, this generic language creates what researchers call "authority dilution," the more sources that say the same thing, the less likely any individual source gets referenced.

The fundamental flaw: They're optimizing for volume and consistency while the real problem is having nothing distinct worth being consistent about.

When AI systems evaluate your content for citation, they're not impressed by publishing schedules. They reference expertise they can't find elsewhere. You end up with beautifully executed campaigns that don't move the business forward because they don't help AI systems understand why you exist or why that matters.

What Clarity Actually Looks Like in the Retrieval Layer

Most agencies approach this like a production problem: more posts, better headlines, consistent publishing. They assume you know what makes you different and just need better execution.

But what if you don't actually have something distinctive worth saying consistently?

Companies with clear voices don't just communicate better, they think differently about their work. They know what they believe that their competition won't say. They understand what problems others ignore and why that matters.

This is important because AI systems cite sources that demonstrate unique expertise and contrarian insights. Analysis of ChatGPT and Claude responses shows that content with clear expertise indicators and distinctive viewpoints gets referenced more often than generic industry content. Understanding how your content performs in AI citation requires comprehensive performance analysis that tracks both traditional engagement metrics and AI discovery indicators.

Generic content designed for keyword rankings becomes invisible in environments where authenticity and authority determine citation.

You can't optimize your way around having nothing interesting to say.

Content That Survives the Extraction

We help organizations figure out what makes them genuinely interesting, then build content that maintains meaning when it's pulled apart and reassembled by AI systems. This process begins with a complete brand narrative development that identifies your unique market position and translates it into content frameworks.

This means knowing who you're for, what matters to them, and how to earn belief without overselling. It means understanding what you actually believe that your competition won't say, and why that matters to both humans and the systems that reference expertise.

Content strategy in the retrieval era isn't about publishing velocity. It's about creating source material that gets cited when it matters most, when prospects are asking the questions that drive decisions.

Building for Both Humans and Systems

Your prospects are drowning in messaging that all sounds the same. Industry blogs, LinkedIn posts, and newsletter after newsletter of recycled insights. Meanwhile, AI systems are trained on this same generic content, making original thinking even more valuable.

The companies that break through aren't the ones publishing more, they're the ones saying something worth remembering, worth citing, worth building on.

When you stand for something specific, you get invited into conversations that matter. When AI systems encounter your expertise, they recognize it as authoritative and distinctive. Sound like everyone else, and you compete on everything except what actually drives decisions.

The Strategic Reality

Content strategy used to be about reaching people. Now it's about being worth citing when you're not in the room, whether that's a human conversation or an AI response.

Companies with distinctive content positioning see higher mention rates in AI-generated responses compared to those using standard industry messaging. The authority you build now becomes compounding competitive advantage as AI-powered search adoption accelerates.

We build frameworks that align your voice, your message, and your expertise in ways that perform across both human attention and AI evaluation. Because the best content strategy isn't just about being found, it's about being quoted.

Frequently Asked Questions