B2B marketers publish articles, videos, and reports to reach buyers before a sales call. Buyers now ask AI chatbots many of those questions too. Here are the numbers on B2B content marketing, from budgets and channels to how buyers use content.
Top B2B Content Marketing Statistics
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97% of B2B marketers say they have a content strategy (2025).
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45% of B2B marketers put AI-powered marketing tools in their top three 2026 investment areas.
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59% of B2B marketers rate their past-year marketing at least somewhat effective (2025).
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95% of the time, B2B buyers chose a vendor from their Day One shortlist (2025).
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272 days is how long B2B customer journeys took in Dreamdata's 2026 report.
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More than 80% of B2B software buyers got recommendations from an AI chatbot in the past two years (2026).
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95% of B2B marketers say their organizations use AI-powered applications (2025).
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$114,176 was the average income of B2B content marketers in Superpath's 2025 salary report.
How Many B2B Marketers Have a Content Strategy?
These figures come from surveys of B2B marketers by the Content Marketing Institute (CMI). A content strategy is a plan for what content a company makes, and for whom.
1. 97% of B2B marketers say they have a content strategy (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends). CMI surveyed 1,015 B2B marketers, mostly in North America.
Source: CMI, 2026 B2B Trends
2. 61% of B2B marketers with a content strategy say it improved (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
3. 13% of B2B marketers with a content strategy say it significantly improved (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends). CMI defined that answer as clear growth in results and return on investment (ROI).
4. 74% of B2B marketers whose content strategy improved credit strategy refinement (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends). It was the most-cited driver of improvement.
5. 35% of B2B marketers say they have a scalable model for creating content (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook). Another 45% say they lack one.
In CMI’s 2025 Outlook, “top performers” means B2B marketers who rate their content marketing as extremely or very successful at hitting their targets over the past 12 months.
6. 47% of top-performing B2B content marketers credit a documented strategy for their success (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
How Effective Is B2B Content Marketing?
These figures show how B2B marketers rate their own results. They are self-reported.
7. 59% of B2B marketers rate their marketing at least somewhat effective over the past 12 months (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
8. 12% of B2B marketers say their marketing was highly effective and beat its goals (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
9. 65% of effective B2B marketing teams credit content relevance and quality for their results (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
Source: CMI, 2026 B2B Trends
10. 53% of effective B2B marketing teams credit team skills and capabilities for their results (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
11. 87% of B2B marketers say content marketing helped build brand awareness in the past 12 months (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
12. 74% of B2B marketers say content marketing helped generate demand or leads in the past 12 months (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
13. 49% of B2B marketers say content marketing helped generate sales or revenue in the past 12 months (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
What Are B2B Content Marketers’ Biggest Challenges?
B2B marketers named their biggest content problems. In CMI’s latest survey, each picked their top three.
14. 40% of B2B marketers name creating content that prompts action as a top content challenge (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
Source: CMI, 2026 B2B Trends
15. 39% of B2B marketers name time, people, or budget limits as a top content challenge (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
16. 33% of B2B marketers name measuring content effectiveness as a top content challenge (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
17. 56% of B2B marketers said attributing ROI to content was a measurement challenge in 2024 (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook). The same share cited trouble tracking customer journeys.
How Much Do B2B Companies Spend on Marketing?
These figures come from surveys of B2B marketers and marketing leaders. The CMO Survey asks chief marketing officers (CMOs) and other marketing leaders. Marketing’s share of revenue and its share of the company budget are two different measures.
In The CMO Survey, “B2B product” and “B2B services” mean companies that mainly sell goods or services to businesses.
18. 7.02% of revenue goes to marketing at US B2B product companies, on average (2026) (The CMO Survey, 2026 Breakout Report). B2B services companies average 10.07% of revenue.
19. 7.03% of company budgets goes to marketing at US B2B product companies, on average (2026) (The CMO Survey, 2026 Breakout Report). The figure averages answers from 58 B2B product firms.
20. 2.75% was the average rise in marketing spending at US B2B services companies over the prior 12 months (2026) (The CMO Survey, 2026 Breakout Report). B2B product companies averaged -0.19%.
21. 8.18% is the average marketing budget growth US B2B services companies expect over the next 12 months (2026) (The CMO Survey, 2026 Breakout Report). B2B product companies expect 5.44%.
22. 9% of revenue goes to marketing at B2B firms in France, Germany, and the UK, marketers report (2025) (Forrester, B2B Budget Planning 2026).
23. 46% of B2B marketers who know their content marketing budget expected it to rise in 2025 (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook). That group made up 63% of respondents.
Where Are B2B Marketers Investing?
B2B marketers named the areas where they expect to invest most. Other figures cover budgets they already set. Experiential marketing covers in-person or virtual experiences, such as events, workshops, and demos. Thought leadership is expert content that shares a point of view.
24. 45% of B2B marketers put AI-powered marketing tools among their top three investment areas for 2026 (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends). It was the most-picked area.
Source: CMI, 2026 B2B Trends
25. 33% of B2B marketers put events and experiential marketing among their top three investment areas for 2026 (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
26. 32% of B2B marketers put owned media among their top three investment areas for 2026 (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends). Owned media here covers content assets, websites, blogs, and email.
27. Just 9% of B2B marketers put salaries, training, and development among their top three investment areas for 2026 (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends). That put human resources last on the list.
28. 78% of B2B marketers say they allocate budget to experiential marketing (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
29. 61% of B2B marketers who know their content marketing budget expected their organization to invest more in video in 2025 (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
30. 52% of B2B marketers who know their content marketing budget expected their organization to invest more in thought leadership content in 2025 (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
Which Content Formats Do B2B Marketers Use?
These figures show which kinds of content B2B marketers make, from articles to video, and how they work with creators and influencers.
31. 92% of B2B marketers used short articles or posts over the past 12 months (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook). CMI surveyed 980 B2B marketers, mostly in North America.
Source: CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook
32. 76% of B2B marketers used video content over the past 12 months (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
33. 75% of B2B marketers used case studies or customer stories over the past 12 months (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
34. 58% of B2B marketers say videos are one of their most effective content types (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook). Case studies and customer stories came next, at 53%.
35. 45% of B2B marketers say research reports are one of their most effective content types (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
36. 78% of B2B marketing leaders in six countries use video in their marketing (2025) (LinkedIn & Ipsos, 2025 B2B Marketing Benchmark). Ipsos surveyed 1,500 of them in the US, UK, Germany, Brazil, India and Australia.
37. 55% of B2B marketing leaders in six countries use influencers in their marketing (2025) (LinkedIn & Ipsos, 2025 B2B Marketing Benchmark). Another 29% plan to start within a year.
38. 43% of B2B marketing leaders in six countries plan to boost influencer investment next year (2025) (LinkedIn & Ipsos, 2025 B2B Marketing Benchmark).
Which Channels Do B2B Marketers Use to Distribute Content?
These figures show where B2B marketers publish and share their content.
39. 89% of B2B marketers distributed content on organic social media over the past 12 months (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
Source: CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook
40. 71% of B2B marketers used email newsletters to distribute content over the past 12 months (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
41. 27% of B2B marketers used podcasts to distribute content in 2024, down from 30% a year earlier (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
42. 52% of B2B marketers say in-person events are one of their most effective distribution channels (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
43. 51% of B2B marketers say webinars are one of their most effective distribution channels (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
44. 85% of B2B marketers name LinkedIn among the organic social platforms that deliver the best value (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
45. 76% of B2B marketers whose organizations create thought leadership name LinkedIn as one of their most effective channels for it (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends). CMI surveyed 1,015 B2B marketers, mostly in North America.
How Do Webinars Perform for B2B Marketers?
Webinars are online presentations, watched live or later on demand. These figures come from ON24, a webinar platform, and NetLine, a platform for gated B2B content.
46. 239 people attended the average webinar on ON24’s platform in 2025 (ON24, 2026 Webinar Benchmarks). That was up 11% from 2024.
47. On average, 60% of registrants attended webinars on ON24’s platform in 2025 (ON24, 2026 Webinar Benchmarks).
48. On average, each webinar on ON24’s platform drew 150 poll responses in 2025 (ON24, 2026 Webinar Benchmarks). Polls drew more interaction than any other engagement tool.
49. Webinar registrations on NetLine rose 5.3% in 2025 (NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report). Live webinar registrations fell 22.9%.
How Long Is the B2B Buying Journey?
These figures measure how long B2B purchases take and how many people take part. Each source tracks buying journeys in its own way.
50. 272 days is how long B2B customer journeys took in Dreamdata’s 2026 report, up from 211 days (Dreamdata, 2026 report release).
Source: Dreamdata, 2026 report release
51. 88 touchpoints made up the average B2B buyer journey in Dreamdata’s 2026 report, up from 76 (Dreamdata, LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks 2026).
52. 10 stakeholders were involved in the typical B2B buyer journey in Dreamdata’s 2026 report, up from 6.8 (Dreamdata, LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks 2026).
53. The average B2B buying cycle lasted 10.1 months in 2025 (6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report). It was 11.3 months in 2024.
In 6sense’s report, “point of first contact” means how far into the buying journey, as a share of the whole journey, buyers first contact sellers.
54. B2B buyers first contacted sellers 61% of the way through the buying journey in 2025 (6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report). That is down from about 69% in 2023 and 2024.
55. An average of 27 weeks passed before B2B buyers first contacted sellers in 2025 (6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report).
How Do B2B Buyers Choose Vendors?
Many B2B buyers settle on vendors before they talk to sales. A shortlist is the small set of vendors a buyer seriously considers. A rep-free buying experience means buying without talking to a sales rep.
In 6sense’s Buyer Experience Report, “Day One shortlist” means the vendors buyers already list when their search starts.
56. 95% of the time, B2B buyers chose a vendor from their Day One shortlist (2025) (6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report).
Source: 6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report
57. 94% of B2B buyers ranked their shortlist before talking to sellers (2025) (6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report).
58. 77% of B2B buyers say their first vendor conversation was with the vendor that won (2025) (6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report).
59. B2B buyers evaluated an average of 5.1 vendors in 2025 (6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report). They had prior experience with 3.8 of them.
60. 83% of B2B technology buyers shortlisted three or fewer products (2026) (TrustRadius, 2026 B2B buying research). The average shortlist held 2.7 products.
61. 67% of B2B buyers say they prefer a rep-free buying experience (2025) (Gartner, March 2026 press release). Gartner surveyed 646 B2B buyers.
62. 13 internal stakeholders and nine outside influencers take part in the typical B2B buying decision (2025) (Forrester, State of Business Buying 2026).
How Do B2B Buyers Use AI to Research Purchases?
Buyers now use AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, to research purchases. Large language models (LLMs) are the AI systems behind these chatbots.
63. 94% of B2B buyers use large language models (LLMs) in their buying process (2025) (6sense, 2025 Buyer Experience Report).
64. 94% of business buyers report using AI during their buying process (2025) (Forrester, State of Business Buying 2026 blog). Forrester surveyed nearly 18,000 business buyers worldwide.
65. 82% of B2B software buyers got software recommendations from an AI chatbot in the past two years (2026) (G2, 2026 Buyer Behavior Report).
66. 51% of B2B software buyers start their research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google (2026) (G2, The Answer Economy).
67. 69% of B2B software buyers say AI chatbots led them to a different vendor than expected (2026) (G2, The Answer Economy). And 33% chose a vendor they hadn’t considered.
68. 94% of B2B tech buyers who used AI fact-checked its answers at least some of the time (2026) (TrustRadius, 2026 B2B buying research). And 72% checked very often or always.
69. 69% of B2B buyers prefer to check AI-generated insights with sales reps (2025) (Gartner, May 2026 press release).
What Gated Content Do B2B Buyers Download?
Gated content sits behind a sign-up form, like an eBook or a white paper. These figures come from NetLine, a platform that hosts gated B2B content.
70. B2B professionals made 7.2 million gated-content registrations on NetLine in 2025 (NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report). That was 8.6% fewer than the 7.9 million in 2024.
Source: NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report, p. 6
71. Demand for gated B2B content on NetLine grew 57.6% from 2021 to 2025 (NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report).
72. eBooks drew 48.8% of gated B2B content registrations on NetLine in 2025 (NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report). That made them the most requested format.
Source: NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report, p. 28
73. AI-related content made up 21.1% of gated B2B content registrations on NetLine in 2025 (NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report). Those registrations rose 28.5% from 2024.
In NetLine’s report, the “Consumption Gap” means the time between requesting gated content and opening it.
74. On average, 47.7 hours passed between requesting gated content on NetLine and opening it in 2025 (NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report). The average was 38.5 hours in 2024.
Source: NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report, p. 7
75. 45.9% of B2B professionals registering for content on NetLine expect to make a purchase decision within 12 months (2025) (NetLine, 2026 B2B Content Consumption Report).
Which Sources Do B2B Buyers Consult?
These figures show which sources B2B technology buyers turn to before they buy.
76. 74% of B2B technology buyers say they consulted user reviews during their buying process (2026) (TrustRadius, 2026 B2B buying research).
77. 53% of B2B technology buyers say they spoke to a peer who used the product before buying (2026) (TrustRadius, 2026 B2B buying research).
78. Only 13% of B2B technology buyers in a 2026 survey say they consulted an analyst report (TrustRadius, 2026 B2B buying research). That share is down 63% from its 2022 level.
How Does Thought Leadership Influence B2B Buyers?
These figures come from a survey of US business decision-makers. An RFP, or request for proposal, is a formal call for vendor bids.
In Edelman-LinkedIn’s report, “hidden buyers” means final decision-makers from functions like finance, legal, or procurement that don’t need in-depth product knowledge.
In Edelman-LinkedIn’s report, “thought leadership” means free expert content, not product-focused material.
79. 63% of US hidden B2B buyers spend over an hour a week consuming thought leadership (2025) (Edelman & LinkedIn, 2025 Thought Leadership Report). For target buyers, the product experts, it is 64%.
80. 55% of US hidden B2B buyers use thought leadership to vet vendors (2025) (Edelman & LinkedIn, 2025 Thought Leadership Report).
81. 95% of US hidden B2B buyers say strong thought leadership makes them more receptive to sales and marketing outreach (2025) (Edelman & LinkedIn, 2025 Thought Leadership Report).
82. 79% of US hidden B2B buyers say they are more likely to back RFP bids from vendors that consistently publish high-quality thought leadership (2025) (Edelman & LinkedIn, 2025 Thought Leadership Report).
83. 86% of US hidden B2B buyers prefer thought leadership that challenges their assumptions (2025) (Edelman & LinkedIn, 2025 Thought Leadership Report).
84. 57% of US hidden B2B buyers prefer quick takeaways over deep, academic-style content (2025) (Edelman & LinkedIn, 2025 Thought Leadership Report).
85. 85% of US hidden B2B buyers rate a vendor’s understanding of their challenges as important in RFP vendor choice (2025) (Edelman & LinkedIn, 2025 Thought Leadership Report). Only 41% rate “safest choice” as important.
How Do B2B Marketers Use AI for Content?
These figures show how B2B marketing teams use AI tools to make content. AI agents are AI tools that carry out tasks on their own.
86. 95% of B2B marketers say their organizations use AI-powered applications (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends). CMI and MarketingProfs surveyed 1,015 B2B marketers, mostly in North America.
87. 68% of B2B marketers whose organizations use AI say they are still exploring or developing their AI approach (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
88. 78.9% of US B2B product companies used AI for content creation in marketing in early 2026 (The CMO Survey, 2026 Breakout Report). So did 73.6% of B2B services firms.
89. 89% of B2B marketers at AI-using organizations say their organizations use AI tools to generate or optimize marketing copy (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
Source: CMI, 2026 B2B Trends
90. 87% of B2B marketers using AI for content creation say their productivity improved (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
91. 58% of B2B marketers using AI for content say their content quality improved (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
92. Only 39% of B2B marketers using AI for content say their content performance improved (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends). Another 15% say it is too soon to tell.
93. Just 3% of B2B marketers say AI agents are core to their strategies (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
94. 8% of B2B tech marketing decision makers say AI generates most of their content (2026) (10Fold, The Visibility Reset). Another 39% say they use a balanced mix of AI and human work. The survey covered 400 B2B tech marketers in the US and Europe.
How Is AI Search Changing B2B Content?
AI search tools now send visitors to B2B websites. Answer engines are AI tools, like ChatGPT, that answer questions directly.
In this Demandbase analysis, “referral traffic” counts only attributable site visits that arrive when someone clicks a link in an AI assistant.
95. 303% more ChatGPT referral visits reached the B2B websites Demandbase measures in June 2026 than a year earlier (Demandbase, ChatGPT referral data).
96. ChatGPT sent about 2.6 million monthly visits to B2B websites Demandbase measures in June 2026 (Demandbase, ChatGPT referral data). That is up from roughly 645,000 in June 2025.
97. 52% of B2B tech marketing decision makers rank AI search and answer engines as their most effective content distribution channel (2026) (10Fold, The Visibility Reset). The survey covered 400 B2B tech marketers in the US and Europe.
98. Only 4% of B2B tech marketing decision makers say they have fully adapted their content for AI search (2026) (10Fold, June 2026 research).
99. 42% of B2B tech marketing decision makers say AI search raised both their visibility and traffic (2026) (10Fold, The Visibility Reset).
In The CMO Survey, “GEO” means work to get content to appear in AI-generated search results.
100. 40.8% of US B2B product companies used AI for GEO in early 2026 (The CMO Survey, 2026 Breakout Report). So did 47.2% of B2B services firms.
101. Informa TechTarget sees 2x to 3x higher membership conversion from answer-engine and LLM citations than from traditional organic search (Informa TechTarget, 2025 Form 10-K). It reported this in its 2025 annual report.
How Do B2B Marketers Measure Content?
These figures show how B2B marketers measure their content, and what makes it hard.
102. 80% of B2B marketers whose organizations create thought leadership measure it by audience engagement, such as views, downloads, and shares (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
103. 63% of B2B marketers whose organizations create thought leadership measure it by business impact, such as leads and pipeline influence (2025) (CMI, 2026 B2B Trends).
104. 6% of B2B marketers do not track their thought leadership at all (2025) (CMI, 2026 Technology Trends).
105. Nearly half of B2B marketers must justify their marketing spend to C-suite executives every month (2024) (LinkedIn, B2B ROI research). YouGov surveyed 1,014 senior B2B marketers at firms with 250+ staff in the US, UK, France, and India.
106. 26% of B2B marketing leaders in six countries name ROI measurement a top concern (2025) (LinkedIn & Ipsos, 2025 B2B Marketing Benchmark).
How Big Are B2B Content Teams, and What Do They Earn?
These figures show who makes B2B content and what they earn.
107. 76% of B2B marketers have a dedicated content marketing team or person on staff (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook). Larger organizations were more likely to have one.
108. 54% of B2B marketers with a dedicated content marketing team or staff say it has two to five people (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook).
109. 7% of B2B marketers without a dedicated content team say they use an outside agency or vendor (2024) (CMI, 2025 B2B Outlook). Half of marketers without a dedicated team rely on several content teams split by department, brand, or product.
110. Outside agencies, partners, and services do 28.38% of digital marketing work at US B2B product companies, on average (2026) (The CMO Survey, 2026 Breakout Report). The figure averages answers from 80 B2B product firms.
111. 3.85% was the average growth in marketing team size at US B2B services companies over the past year (2026) (The CMO Survey, 2026 Breakout Report). At B2B product companies, the average was -0.03%.
112. $114,176 was the average income of B2B content marketers in Superpath’s 2025 salary report (Superpath, 2025 Salary Report). Superpath counted only people who make a full-time living as content marketers, freelancers included.
Conclusion
B2B buyers research alone and build their shortlists before they talk to sales. Marketers are putting money into AI tools, but most are still working out how to use them. We’ll update this page as new data comes out.