Top takeaways from the Content Marketing Institute’s 2026 B2B Content and Marketing Trends Report

If you don't have time to keep up woth content marketing trends, no worries—I gotchu. There were some interesting nuggets in this year’s report, which surveyed over 1,000 B2B marketers. Here’s a look at what caught my eye.

Constant iteration is critical.

Content strategy shouldn’t be written in stone. As Robert Rose said in a live discussion exploring this year’s results, “Strategy is a process. It's not a project.” It’s vital to do things incrementally and keep looking at results to course-correct consistently. Regular deep dives are still important, but keeping an eye on the ball on a weekly or monthly basis will help you see what’s working and what’s not much faster.

AI investment is up, but investment in humans is down.

This was a bummer to read. 45% of respondents said they planned to put more money into AI and automation, while only 9% said they were investing in salaries, training, and development.

Without humans driving strategy and coming up with innovative ideas, AI tools will just direct teams toward the same old, same old. While efficiency and speed are great, you need actual creativity and smarts behind it.

Investment in thought leadership—though a powerful channel—still lags.

It was good to see confirmation that thought leadership is increasingly seen as a business differentiator. The companies deploying it most effectively treat it as a strategic tactic, not just another content channel or task to check off.

I loved this quote from the report: “When leaders in the company empower employees to have a voice, it’s not just marketing speaking; it’s the business thinking out loud.”

However, over 50% of B2B marketers said their thought leadership programs were “exploratory” or “developing.”

The good news: Focusing on this tactic now could help position your leaders—and your business—at the forefront of your industry.