---
id: "quote-imi-input-output"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["§ The 4C Framework for Building Generative Readiness"]
tags: ["content-engineering", "llm-ingestion"]
related: ["concept-prompt-authority", "framework-imi-citability-operationalization", "entity-imi"]
speaker: "IMI Executive"
speakers: ["IMI Executive"]
quote: "AI systems rely on structured, trustworthy, machine-readable data, so the way we publish and organize information must be engineered for LLM ingestion, not just human reading. In simple terms, it's about controlling the input to control the output."
sources: ["geo"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-geo"
originDay: 3
articleStem: "hbr-tier1-01-gen-ai-b2b-buying"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/06/how-gen-ai-is-disrupting-b2b-buying-decisions"
sourceTitle: "How Gen AI is Disrupting B2B Buying Decisions"
---
# Controlling the input to control the output

> "AI systems rely on structured, trustworthy, machine-readable data, so the way we publish and organize information must be engineered for LLM ingestion, not just human reading. In simple terms, it's about controlling the input to control the output."
> — An executive at [[entity-imi]]

**Why it matters:** This is the source's tightest statement of [[concept-prompt-authority]] — you shape an LLM's *output* by engineering its *input*. It is the operating principle behind [[framework-imi-citability-operationalization]] and [[concept-machine-readable-content]].