New research from TopRank Marketing and Ascend2 finds 48% of marketers who connect influence to AEO/GEO see their brand cited in AI answers, vs. 26% who don't; only 37% have made the connection.
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire-糖心Vlog/ -- B2B marketing agency聽TopRank Marketing and research partner Ascend2 have released , a survey of 424 B2B marketers that finds brands integrating influencer marketing with AI search optimization (AEO/GEO) are nearly twice as likely to report their brand or content cited in AI-generated answers (48% vs. 26%). They are also more than twice as likely to report referral traffic from AI assistants (48% vs. 21%), and only 1% report no search or AI visibility benefit from influencer marketing, compared with 13% of marketers who have not integrated. Yet just 37% of B2B marketers have made the connection.
The fifth edition of TopRank's research since 2020 explores how trusted influencers, always-on relationships and integrated marketing strategies help B2B brands build credibility, improve AI search visibility and influence decisions across the customer journey. Overall, 93% of marketers rate their influencer programs effective, yet only 46% rate them very effective. The programs in that top tier are nearly three times as likely to run always-on engagement (72% vs. 27%).
The report documents the arrival of B2B influence's creator generation: a shift from influencers valued for reach to creators valued for credibility, whose content now influences AI-generated answers as much as buyer opinion. B2B brands partner with customer advocates (42%), executive leaders (33%) and entertainment creators (33%) alongside content creators with large professional audiences (44%), and select them for trustworthiness (46%) over audience size (30%).
"In this age of AI-powered discovery, there's no visibility without credibility. The data shows top performers are integrating always-on influencer programs to build trust with buyers and LLMs alike," said Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Marketing.
"Influencer marketing is no longer being treated as a nice to have. It's not just an awareness tactic. It's increasingly being used as a structured way to build confidence in a brand," said Kelsey Voss, principal marketing analyst at EMARKETER, in the report.
As buyers turn to AI assistants, communities and trusted experts to evaluate solutions, the research identifies a growing mandate for B2B brands. Most marketers see it coming: 86% say improving generative AI visibility will be at least moderately important this year, yet only 21% have made it a primary goal of their influencer program. Marketers who have integrated influence with AI search also run stronger programs overall: 61% rate their influencer strategy very effective, compared with 38% of those who have not, and 68% feel very confident justifying influencer budget to a CFO, compared with 43%.
The report includes a B2B Creator Content Marketing Maturity Model and an action plan mapped to the six pillars of TopRank's Best Answer Marketing framework: Data-Informed, Integrated Strategy, Trust System, Experiential Content, Multi-Channel Discovery and Unified Analytics.
The study found that B2B marketers with very effective influencer programs:
- Are more than 3x as likely to have a fully documented strategy (73% vs. 22%).
- Extend influence beyond awareness to evaluation, decision and post-sale engagement.
- Invest more often in creator collaborations on podcasts, research reports and newsletters.
- Integrate influencer marketing with AI search optimization, paid media and sales enablement more often than other programs.
The full report combines survey benchmarks with expert perspectives, case studies from top B2B technology brands and practical tools to help marketers assess program maturity and prioritize their next steps. The report also features a list of 20 B2B Influencer Marketing Leaders to Watch from brands including Adobe, Anthropic, Dropbox, HubSpot, IBM, NVIDIA, SAS, Slack and Workday.
The survey was conducted mid-May to mid-June 2026 among manager-level B2B marketers and above at U.S. companies with 100 or more employees, with effectiveness based on respondents' own assessments.
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Lee Odden, CEO of TopRank Marketing, is available for interviews. Media assets are available on request.
About TopRank Marketing
TopRank Marketing is a strategic B2B marketing agency that helps enterprise brands drive full-funnel outcomes, from brand awareness to demand and pipeline. By integrating content, influence and SEO/AEO, its Best Answer Marketing framework delivers data-informed, creative, multi-channel content experiences wherever buyers are influenced. TopRank Marketing published its first B2B influencer marketing research report in 2020 and has produced five editions of the benchmark study since, with insights featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Economist and Forbes.
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About Ascend2
Ascend2 specializes in creating custom research studies that empower businesses to drive demand and elevate their marketing efforts. From survey design to full report creation, Ascend2 delivers end-to-end research solutions that turn data into marketing momentum.
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Media Contact
Debbie Friez, TopRank Marketing, 1 952 400 0190, [email protected],
SOURCE TopRank Marketing
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