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10Fold, a leading B2B tech communications and content agency, today released its latest annual B2B content marketing report, “The Visibility Reset: How AI Search Is Changing B2B Content Strategy,” revealing that AI-generated search and answer engines are now the leading content distribution channel for the majority (52%) of B2B technology marketers, taking the top slot from SEO.
52% of B2B tech marketers rank AI search as most effective content distribution channel, surpassing SEO.
52% said visibility in AI-generated search is very important; 15% said it is a top strategic priority.
41% of respondents said only 25% to 49% of their content was created or updated for AI-driven search in past year.
Top content challenge: earning visibility from credible sources (31%); differentiating in AI-saturated market (29%).
85% said lead quality improved over past 12 months (32% significantly, 53% somewhat).
94% of respondents said content team increased or stayed same; 38% of companies have formal enterprise-wide AI usage policy.
“AI search is changing the rules for B2B content marketing,” said Susan Thomas, CEO of 10Fold. “For years, marketers optimized for search rankings, website traffic and lead generation. Now they also have to consider whether their content is credible, specific and authoritative enough to be surfaced by AI systems and visible to trusted buyers. The companies that win will not be the ones that publish the most AI-generated content. They will be the ones that create content worth finding, citing and believing.”
Search is no longer limited to traditional search engine results pages. Now, buyers are asking questions in AI-powered environments and receiving synthesized answers. This means content visibility depends less on owning the top search result and more on building a brand's expertise and authority.
More than half of respondents, 52%, said visibility in AI-generated search is very important, and 15% said it is a top strategic priority. Yet despite the growing importance of AI visibility, the majority (41%) of respondents said only 25% to 49% of their content had been created or updated for AI-driven search in the past year. This readiness gap suggests that B2B organizations understand the importance of AI search but have not yet fully adapted their content portfolios.
The top content challenge, cited by 31% of respondents, was earning visibility from credible sources to support stronger discovery. Challenges differentiating in an AI-saturated market followed as the second biggest barrier (29%), and producing enough high-quality content was cited as the third top challenge (23%). The findings point to a growing need for content topics such as original research and expert perspectives, as well as content supported by credible third-party validation.
Forty-two percent of respondents said both visibility and traffic increased as a result of AI-generated search. But website traffic does not paint the whole picture; marketers are redefining what content success looks like. AI / search visibility was the most frequently cited success metric at 40%, ahead of marketing-qualified leads at 33%, brand awareness at 31%, and audience growth at 31%. The study also found lead quality is improving. Eighty-five percent of respondents said lead quality improved over the past 12 months, including 32% who said it improved significantly and 53% who said it improved somewhat.
The study found most B2B marketers are combining AI and human expertise. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they use a balanced collaboration between AI and humans to develop content. Another 21% said they use AI-generated drafts, while 8% said content is mostly AI-generated. Given these statistics, 94% of respondents said their team increased or stayed the same this year (51% of those said the team increased).
However, review and governance practices remain uneven. Nearly one-third of respondents said every piece of AI-developed content is reviewed by both a subject matter expert and an editor, and a similar share said every piece is reviewed by a marketing editor. But 9% said they do not review, or only spot check AI-developed content. Only 38% of companies reported having a formal enterprise-wide AI usage policy.
B2B marketers are already experimenting with a wide range of tactics to improve visibility in AI-powered discovery environments. The most common tactic is improving product or solution explainer content, cited by 44% of respondents. Other tactics include creating content that answers role-specific buyer questions at 39% and creating quote-ready summaries or key takeaways at 35%.
10Fold is an integrated B2B tech communications agency that helps clients build brand value, increase market visibility and connect communications programs to measurable business improvement. The agency combines industry fluency, integrated communications programs, data-driven insights and real-time measurement to help B2B technology companies reach buyers, talent and investors. 10Fold supports clients across earned, owned, paid and shared channels with media relations, analyst and influencer relations, executive thought leadership, messaging, crisis, research-driven content, social content, digital campaigns, speaking and awards.
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