Upstream optimisation for zero click and AI search.

Corpus is a digital strategy and research consultancy that helps organisations understand how zero click results, AI summaries, and off site signals shape behaviour before users visit, then turn that insight into better products, content, and customer journeys.

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We help organisations adapt to zero click and AI search by optimising upstream signals that drive performance before, during, and after a visit.

Why your digital work is not moving the needle.

Many teams are investing heavily in their websites and digital experiences, redesigning, testing and optimising. The work looks sensible, the decks look good, yet the metrics that matter still do not move in a meaningful or reliable way.

Decisions are made and changes are shipped, but confidence does not increase. Results feel fragile. Progress feels reversible.

This is usually not a UX or tooling problem. It is a clarity problem that starts before users arrive, in what is being assumed, prioritised and left unexamined.

COMMON ISSUES

Upstream signals left unexamined.
Redesigns shipped, metrics still flat.
Decisions driven by urgency instead of clarity.
Interfaces updated while strategy and structure stay untouched.
AI and zero click surfaces treated as edge cases, not primary touchpoints.
New tools and dashboards added, shared understanding reduced.
Experiments run, but not connected to a clear model of behaviour.

Long before someone visits a website, humans and AI are already forming judgements. Zero click results, AI summaries, marketplaces and other off site signals shape trust, expectations and intent across the wider digital ecosystem.

What Corpus does.

Corpus helps organisations understand and optimise the upstream and on site signals that shape meaning, trust and expectations in a zero click, AI driven environment.

We map how humans and AI encounter your organisation across search results, zero click experiences, AI summaries, marketplaces and other off site surfaces, then connect that to what people experience in your products and on your website.

01_

Upstream ecosystem mapping

Search results, zero click experiences, AI summaries, marketplaces and other off site surfaces.

02_

On site experience and research

UX research, accessibility and product journeys.

03_

Content
& structure

Information architecture, content strategy and signalling.

04_

Experimentation & learning

Connecting upstream insights to experiments and measurement.

We work across early stage clarity, UX research, accessibility, content and experimentation, so that thinking, structure and execution reinforce one another and are measured against the same goals.

The result is work that is more coherent and resilient, and easier to optimise, because it is grounded in shared understanding rather than untested assumptions.

Explore what Corpus does →

Why Corpus can help.

Corpus exists to help teams make sense of complex, AI mediated digital ecosystems, especially when they are under pressure to improve performance but are not confident they are addressing the right underlying problems.

We have spent decades working across UX research, accessibility, experimentation and content, often stepping in when digital systems feel fragmented and decisions no longer feel grounded in evidence.

That experience means we are comfortable looking beyond the interface. We examine assumptions, priorities and signals before users arrive, including search results, zero click experiences, AI summaries and other off site surfaces, then connect that clarity back to real user experience and performance.

Why teams work with Corpus →

NOT AN AGENCY. NOT JUNIORS.

Decades of UX, accessibility, experimentation and content work.
Experience with complex, multi stakeholder digital environments.
Comfortable when evidence is partial and signals are noisy.
Join up upstream signals and on site journeys into clear, concrete changes.
Use existing data and research before asking for new work.
Start with a focused diagnostic, not a six month programme by default.
Honest about fit and value before we take an engagement.

How we work.

Corpus is new. The people behind it are not. Corpus is led by Abi Hough, who has spent more than twenty years working in optimisation, UX and digital performance for organisations of all sizes.

We work in a calm, evidence led way that helps teams cut through noise and regain confidence in their decisions.

01_

Understand the system

Slowing things down, mapping decisions, incentives and constraints.

02_

Clarify the problems

Connecting upstream insights to experiments and measurement.

03_

Shape and support change

Making changes that can be explained, defended and iterated.

Often that means slowing things down at first. We create space to understand what is actually happening across the system, including business decisions, incentives, policies and constraints that shape user experience long before design or build begins.

We prioritise evidence over opinion and look across the whole system rather than isolated touchpoints. Our work focuses on progress that is sustainable rather than reactive, and on changes that can be explained, defended and iterated over time.

Learn more about how we work →

Who we’re a good fit for.

We are usually a good fit for teams that: 

Are under pressure to improve performance but want more confidence in their decisions
Suspect issues sit deeper than the interface
Want decisions grounded in evidence rather than opinion
Are willing to examine strategy, structure and upstream signals

See if Corpus is the right fit for your team →

We are probably not a good fit if you:.

Want quick fixes or short term gains at any cost
Are looking for isolated optimisation of single pages or flows
Prefer tool led solutions that avoid examining underlying assumptions

A calm place to start.

If you are dealing with uncertainty, competing priorities or a sense that things are not quite joining up, a structured conversation can help.

You do not need a fully formed brief. We will help you make sense of what is happening, clarify whether the real issues are upstream, on site or both, and explore whether our approach is useful for your situation.

We will also be honest if we are not the right fit.

Start a conversation

Typical first conversations last 45 to 60 minutes and focus on understanding your current situation and constraints.

Upstream optimisation for zero click and AI search.

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Typical first conversations last 45 to 60 minutes and focus on your current situation, constraints and goals

We Are Corpus is a consultancy created by Abi Hough and delivered through uu3 Ltd. Registered in the UK. Company 6272638