Content marketing investment is accelerating as SEO expands to include artificial intelligence (AI) search and large language model (LLM) visibility, according to a recent report from Clutch and Conductor.
The 2026 State of Content Report found the reaction to AI disruption has resulted in 87% of respondents planning to increase content marketing budgets in 2026, and one in four now say LLM models are the primary audience for the majority of their content.
Officials from both companies noted the most striking shift is how quickly LLMs have become a first-class audience for content teams: 81% of content marketers feel positive about the state of content marketing in the era of LLMs and 67% view LLMs as more of an opportunity than a risk for their content strategy.
Content Marketing Inflection Point
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, said Clutch CEO Mike Beares.
“These findings reflect a clear inflection point for content marketing,” said Beares in a statement. “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.”
Increased Output
The report is 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 include hands-on practitioners to directors and C-suite leaders, offering a comprehensive view of how content strategy is evolving in the age of AI.
Beyond budget increases, the research highlights an evolution in how marketers define success. While referral traffic remains a familiar performance metric, respondents 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. As a result:
- 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
Impact of AI
While video and social platforms are rising in importance for authority-building and audience engagement, the report found 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.
“Just one to two years into AI search, nearly a quarter of marketers say LLMs are now their primary content audience,” said Seth Besmertnik, CEO and co-founder of Conductor. “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.”
To explore the full findings and access the complete 2026 State of Content Marketing Report, visit the report here.
