New Clutch and Conductor Data Reveals 87% of Content Marketers Increasing Budgets in 2026 as SEO Expands Into AI Search

One in Four Now Write Primarily for LLMs as AI Becomes a Strategic Growth Lever

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clutch, the leading global marketplace of B2B service providers, in partnership with Conductor, today released its 2026 State of Content Report, revealing that content marketing investment is accelerating as SEO expands to include AI search and large language model visibility.

Rather than pulling back in response to AI disruption, organizations are doubling down. Nearly nine in ten content marketers plan to increase budgets in 2026, and one in four now say large language models are the primary audience for the majority of their content. The data signals a structural shift in how content teams define visibility, performance, and audience in a discovery landscape shaped by both traditional search engines and AI-generated answers.

The findings are based on a January 2026 survey of more than 450 marketing professionals responsible for producing content, spanning organizations from growing SMBs to large enterprises. Respondents represent a wide range of seniority levels, from hands-on practitioners to directors and C-suite leaders, offering a comprehensive view of how content strategy is evolving in the age of AI.

Key findings from the report include:

• 81% of content marketers feel positive about the state of content marketing in the era of LLMs
• 67% view LLMs as more of an opportunity than a risk for their content strategy
• Nearly 25% of respondents say LLMs are now the primary audience for a majority of their content, rising to 32% among enterprise organizations
• 87% plan to increase content marketing budgets in 2026, and more than 55% expect to increase content output
• 75% already use AI-powered tools as part of their standard content creation workflow
• Proprietary research and original reports rank as the top written content priority for increasing visibility in AI-generated answers

“These findings reflect a clear inflection point for content marketing,” said Mike Beares, Clutch CEO. “Teams understand that AI search is reshaping how buyers discover information, and they’re responding by investing in higher-quality, more authoritative content that can earn trust, citations, and visibility across emerging discovery surfaces.”

Beyond budget increases, the research highlights an evolution in how marketers define success. While referral traffic remains a familiar performance metric, many teams acknowledge it no longer captures the full impact of content in AI-driven discovery, where influence and visibility often occur before a click. As a result, marketers are expanding their measurement frameworks to account for brand mentions, citations, and presence within AI-generated responses.

“The most striking shift is how quickly LLMs have become a first-class audience for content teams,” said Seth Besmertnik, CEO and co-founder of Conductor. “Just one to two years into AI search, nearly a quarter of marketers say LLMs are now their primary content audience. That’s a massive change in a short amount of time, and it reinforces why original, trustworthy content is becoming the currency of visibility in AI-generated answers.”

The report also finds that while video and social platforms are rising in importance for authority-building and audience engagement, content teams increasingly recognize that durable AI visibility is driven by structured, extractable, and authoritative assets, particularly original research and long-form reference content that LLMs can reliably cite.

Together, the data paints a picture of a discipline in transition: optimistic, proactive, and increasingly strategic, yet navigating a landscape where visibility often influences outcomes without driving direct clicks.

To explore the full findings and access the complete 2026 State of Content Marketing Report, visit the report here.

ABOUT CLUTCH

Clutch empowers better business decisions as the leading global marketplace of B2B service providers. Business leaders rely on Clutch for in-depth, verified client reviews and to confidently evaluate partners that fit their unique goals. Clutch offers a platform for agencies to increase their visibility with buyers, strengthen their brand’s credibility, and grow their business.

ABOUT CONDUCTOR

Conductor is the only end-to-end, enterprise AEO platform built on the industry’s most complete data engine. The unified platform provides unparalleled AEO & SEO intelligence, scaled AI content generation, and real-time website monitoring. From tracking visibility in LLMs to technical health and content optimization, Conductor’s platform empowers teams to increase authority and visibility in AI and traditional search and accelerate digital growth. Conductor was named a Leader in the Forrester Wave for SEO platforms and is rated #1 on TrustRadius and G2 by enterprise marketers. Customers include global brands such as Citi, e.l.f Cosmetics, FedEx, & Mastercard. Learn more: conductor.com.