Updated 7 October 2026.
34 B2B content marketing statistics for 2026-27, each checked against its original source and dated. We replaced our old list of 100 with fewer figures you can quote with confidence.
Five figures to remember
- Content marketing generates three times more leads than outbound at 62% less cost (Content Marketing Institute, 2024)
- 94% of business buyers use AI in their purchasing process (Forrester, 2025)
- Buyers first contact sellers 61% of the way through their journey (6sense, 2025)
- Only 12% of B2B marketers rate their marketing as highly effective (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
- AI Overviews go with a 58% lower click-through rate for the top result (Ahrefs, 2026)
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Content marketing statistics are everywhere, and many of them are old, recycled or impossible to trace. Our original 2023 version of this page listed 100 facts. When we checked them in 2026, too many had no clear source, came from studies a decade old or described a market that has changed. So we started again.
How we chose these statistics: every figure carries its source name and year, most link to the original study or a direct report of it, and all were checked in October 2026. Where a newer edition of a study exists, we used it. If a link breaks or a newer study is published, we will update this page.
Does Content Marketing Work? Effectiveness Statistics
The headline case for content marketing still rests on lead generation and cost.
- 74% of B2B marketers say content marketing has generated leads in the last 12 months (Content Marketing Institute, 2024)
- Content marketing generates three times more leads than outbound marketing at 62% less cost (Content Marketing Institute, 2024)
- 87% of B2B marketers successfully achieve brand awareness goals through content marketing (Content Marketing Institute, 2024)
- Only 12% of B2B marketers rate their marketing as highly effective; 59% say it is at least somewhat effective (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
- 65% of B2B marketers name content relevance and quality as a reason their effectiveness improved, the most-cited factor (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
For a balanced view, read our post on the advantages and disadvantages of content marketing, and our guide to measuring content marketing ROI.
Content Strategy and Challenges
Almost every B2B team now has a content strategy. The harder part is content that makes people act.
- 97% of B2B marketers have a content strategy, and 61% say it improved over the past year (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
- 40% of B2B marketers struggle to create content that prompts action, the most common challenge (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
- 39% cite resource constraints and 33% struggle to measure content effectiveness (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
- 24% find it hard to differentiate their content from competitors (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
- 89% of B2B marketers personalise content, but 59% describe their personalisation as basic (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
What this means: having a strategy is no longer the differentiator. Content that answers real buyer questions and prompts a next step is. Our nine-step guide to B2B content strategy shows how to build one that does.
AI in Content Marketing Statistics
AI tools are now standard in B2B marketing teams. The results on quality are more mixed than on speed.
- 95% of B2B marketers use AI-powered applications, and 89% use AI for content creation (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
- 87% say AI content tools improved productivity, but only 58% say they improved content quality, and 12% say quality fell (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
- 39% say AI improved content performance; 22% are unsure (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
- 45% of B2B marketers plan to increase investment in AI-powered tools in 2026, the top budget priority (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
How B2B Buyers Research and Buy
Buyers do most of their research alone, and increasingly with AI, before they speak to a supplier.
- 94% of business buyers use AI somewhere in their purchasing process, up from 89% the year before (Forrester Buyers’ Journey Survey, 2025)
- 61% of business buyers use private AI tools provided by their organisation (Forrester, 2025)
- Buyers first contact sellers about 61% of the way through their buying process (6sense, 2025)
- 94% of buyers rank their shortlist by preference before contacting any vendor, and they buy from their top-ranked vendor 77% of the time (6sense, 2025)
- 95% of a B2B company’s potential customers are not actively looking to buy at any given time (Edelman and LinkedIn, 2024)
What this means: by the time a buyer contacts you, the shortlist is set. Your website, your articles and what AI assistants say about you do the early selling. Our guide to answer engine optimisation explains how to show up in those AI answers.
Thought Leadership Statistics
Buyers trust expert content more than marketing materials, but most of it is not good enough.
- 73% of B2B buyers say thought leadership is a more trustworthy basis for judging an organisation’s capabilities than its marketing materials (Edelman and LinkedIn, 2024)
- 75% of buyers say thought leadership led them to research a product or service they had not been considering (Edelman and LinkedIn, 2024)
- 60% of buyers are willing to pay a premium to work with an organisation that produces valuable thought leadership (Edelman and LinkedIn, 2024)
- Only 15% of buyers rate the thought leadership they read as very good or excellent (Edelman and LinkedIn, 2024)
- More than 40% of B2B deals stall because of misalignment within the buying group (Edelman and LinkedIn, 2025)
- 96% of B2B marketers create thought leadership, and 76% say LinkedIn is the most effective channel for it (Content Marketing Institute, 2025)
Search and AI Search Statistics
AI answers are changing how people search and how many of them click through.
- ChatGPT reached 900 million weekly active users in February 2026 (TechCrunch, reporting OpenAI, 2026)
- Google users clicked a traditional search result in 8% of visits when an AI summary appeared, against 15% when none appeared (Pew Research Center, 2025)
- Users ended their browsing session on 26% of pages with an AI summary, against 16% without one (Pew Research Center, 2025)
- An AI Overview is associated with a 58% lower average click-through rate for the top-ranking page (Ahrefs, 2026)
- The average visitor from AI search is worth 4.4 times the average traditional organic visitor, based on conversion rate (Semrush, 2025)
- Gartner predicted that traditional search engine volume would drop 25% by 2026 as people turn to AI chatbots and virtual agents (Gartner, 2024)
What this means: fewer clicks, but better ones. Pages that answer questions clearly and get cited by AI tools still win visits that convert. See our guides on AI SEO for B2B and how to track AI traffic.
Video Content Statistics
Video remains the format buyers say they prefer for learning about a product.
- 91% of businesses use video as a marketing tool (Wyzowl, 2026)
- 82% of marketers say video marketing has given them a good return on investment (Wyzowl, 2026)
- 63% of people say a short video is their preferred way to learn about a product or service, well ahead of text articles at 12% (Wyzowl, 2026)
How to Use Content Marketing Statistics Well
- Cite the original source and year, not the blog that repeated it.
- Check the sample: a survey of 1,000 marketers says something different from a survey of 266.
- Prefer recent data: AI and search figures date quickly. Anything older than two years needs a reason to stay.
- Do not stretch a figure: a B2C study does not describe B2B buyers, and a US sample may not reflect the UK.
- Add your own data: first-hand numbers from your clients are more persuasive than anyone’s survey. Our post on data-driven storytelling shows how to use them.
Unsupported statistics are a fast way to lose trust, with readers and with AI tools that check facts. Our post on the cost of AI hallucinations explains why every figure needs a source you can open.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does content marketing still work in 2026?
Yes, for most B2B firms. The Content Marketing Institute found 74% of B2B marketers said content marketing generated leads in the previous 12 months (2024). What has changed is how buyers find content: more of it is now discovered through AI assistants and AI summaries as well as search.
How much more effective is content marketing than outbound marketing?
The Content Marketing Institute reports that content marketing generates three times more leads than outbound marketing at 62% less cost (2024).
How many B2B marketers use AI for content?
In the Content Marketing Institute’s research for 2026, 95% of B2B marketers said they use AI-powered applications and 89% use AI for content creation (2025).
How do B2B buyers use AI when buying?
Forrester’s Buyers’ Journey Survey found 94% of business buyers use AI somewhere in their purchasing process (2025), and twice as many as the year before named generative AI or conversational search as their most meaningful source of information.
Why did you cut the list from 100 statistics?
Many of the original figures had no traceable source or were too old to be useful. We kept only statistics we could check against an original source, with the source name and year beside each one.
Turn the Statistics Into Results
Numbers tell you what is happening; content that answers your buyers’ questions is what changes your results. Monthly Blog Content gives you expert, sourced articles from £440 a month, and Content Optimisation updates the pages you already have from £220. See all our services or contact us to talk it through.