Ingot Research Guide

Six Principles for High-Value Research

Master these fundamentals to get more from every query.

🎯

Precision Beats Vagueness

A broad question yields a broad answer. Specific, bounded queries with clear scope produce insights you can actually act on. Define your domain, timeframe, and success criteria upfront.

Try this: Add constraints like "for teams under 50 people" or "within the AWS ecosystem" to sharpen results.

⚖️

Seek the Other Side

Single-perspective research has limited value. Explicitly request opposing viewpoints, stakeholder analyses, or "steel-man the counterargument" to produce balanced insights that hold up to scrutiny.

Try this: "What would a skeptic say?" or "Compare how CTOs vs. developers view this decision."

⏳

Know Your Expiration Date

Some insights age like wine; others spoil overnight. Methodology and principles remain valuable for years. Market data and regulatory analysis need timestamps and frequent updates.

Price accordingly: Timeless frameworks justify higher prices; time-sensitive analysis commands premiums when fresh.

📊

Garbage In, Garbage Out

The AI amplifies what you feed it. Attach proprietary datasets, internal docs, or domain expertise as sources. Your unique inputs create differentiated outputs no one else can replicate.

Remember: Your private sources stay private unless you explicitly publish the resulting Ingot.

💎

Research First, Monetize Second

Start with questions you need answered. The best Ingots solve real problems their creators actually faced. If your solution proved valuable to you, others facing similar challenges will pay for it.

The magic: Same query + different source access = entirely different (and valuable) results.

🔗

Leverage What You Have

Your queries can tap into tools and subscriptions you already own. Remote AI operators execute in isolated browser sessions, accessing data sources on your behalf while keeping credentials secure.

Unique advantage: Results come back cryptographically attested and signed—provable provenance.

See the Difference

Real examples showing how query refinement transforms value.

❌ Vague

"What are security issues in Rust?"

Estimated value: $0.30 – $0.50

→

✓ Precise

"Top 5 security vulnerabilities in Rust async code patterns, with mitigation strategies and code examples for each."

Estimated value: $5 – $15

❌ One-sided

"Why should we use Kubernetes?"

Estimated value: $0.50 – $1.00

→

✓ Balanced

"Kubernetes vs. alternatives for teams of 10-50 developers: arguments FOR and AGAINST from the perspectives of DevOps leads, developers, and CFOs. Include migration cost estimates."

Estimated value: $25 – $75

❌ Generic

"Compare Go and Rust for backend development."

Estimated value: $1 – $3

→

✓ Data-driven

"Memory safety comparison: Rust vs. Go vs. Zig for systems programming. Include CVE frequency data from 2023-2025, benchmark performance in concurrent workloads, and hiring market analysis."

Estimated value: $50 – $200

❌ Public sources only

"Analyze customer churn patterns."

Estimated value: $2 – $8

→

✓ With proprietary data

"Analyze churn patterns in our Q4 customer data [attached]. Identify leading indicators, segment by customer tier, and recommend 3 retention interventions with projected ROI."

Estimated value: $500 – $2,000+

💰 The Pricing Spectrum

Not all research is created equal—and that's exactly the point.

$0.30

Quick facts
Generic overviews
Commodity knowledge

$50–$200

Expert synthesis
Multi-source analysis
Actionable frameworks

$2,000+

Proprietary insights
Irreplaceable data
Strategic intelligence

📖

Think Like a Publisher

A pulp paperback and a specialized technical manual both contain words on pages—but they serve different audiences at vastly different price points. Your Ingot's value comes from its specificity, depth, and irreplaceability. Research that required unique access, proprietary data, or significant synthesis effort commands premium pricing.

🛰️ The Relay Advantage

Your research queries can leverage tools and access you already have—without sharing credentials.

🔑

Your Subscriptions, Your Data

Access paywalled content and licensed databases through secure relay execution.

🔒

Isolated Execution

Each research session runs in a sandboxed browser—credentials never leave your control.

✍️

Signed & Attested

Results include cryptographic proof of origin—verifiable provenance for every insight.

🧩

Tool Integration

Connect to APIs, databases, and services. The AI coordinates; you keep the keys.

Your Research, Your Way, Your Value