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B2B content marketing means creating useful content for business buyers, from their first search to the choice of vendor. Today, that includes what buyers and AI use to build the shortlist: comparisons, pricing, case studies and integrations. This guide shows what to publish, who to work with, where to distribute and how to measure.
In short
- In G2’s survey of 1,076 B2B software buyers, 51% start research with an AI chatbot more often than Google.
- For 54% of them, AI chatbots influence the shortlist, while review sites do so for 43%.
- In a 6sense study of nearly 4,000 B2B buyers, the winner was already on the Day One shortlist in 95% of purchases.
- That is why B2B content marketing answers category, competitor, requirement, integration and pricing questions and tracks brand recommendations every month.
What changes in B2B content marketing when buyers research with AI?
The starting point of the purchase changes. Instead of visiting several sites, buyers ask AI for the best options and reach the seller with a few names. That is why B2B content marketing needs to feed that answer with clear information for everyone involved in the decision.
G2 surveyed 1,076 B2B software buyers and decision-makers in March 2026. The sample covers North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. For 51% of them, research starts with an AI chatbot more often than with Google. In G2’s 2025 report, that figure was 29%. In addition, 69% chose a different vendor than planned because of a chatbot. However, G2 is a software review site, sells marketing services to vendors, and its group includes Capterra.
The shortlist also forms early. A 2025 6sense study of nearly 4,000 B2B buyers found the winner on the Day One shortlist in 95% of purchases. The purchases were services (41%), software (33%) and physical goods (26%), with a median between $200,000 and $300,000. Like G2, 6sense has a stake in the topic: it sells B2B marketing and sales software. Also, neither study lists Latin America in its sample.
At the same time, many people take part in the choice. According to Forrester, a typical buying decision involves 13 people from the buying company and 9 from outside. The firm surveyed nearly 18,000 buyers worldwide in 2025. Of those, 94% used AI in the purchase, but they sought to validate the answers with peers, experts and analysts.
The overall plan, from the funnel to measurement, is in the guide on how to do content marketing.
What B2B content gets you on the shortlist: comparisons, pricing, case studies, integrations?
The content that helps answers evaluation questions, not just definition questions. In the G2 survey, two in three buyers start their AI research with category or competitor questions. Then come requirements, ecosystem and budget questions. Therefore, each type of question calls for its own page.
| First question to AI | Example (ours) | What to publish |
|---|---|---|
| Category (33%) | “Best HR software for manufacturing” | Solution page by industry |
| Competitor (31%) | “Alternatives to vendor X” | Comparison and alternatives |
| Requirements (22%) | “What to require from an ERP” | Technical guide and RFP checklist |
| Ecosystem (9%) | “HR software that integrates with my ERP” | List of integrations |
| Budget (6%) | “How much does HR software cost” | Price range |
The percentages apply to software buyers, while the examples and suggestions are ours. In B2B content marketing, each row becomes a page or a section:
- Comparison: publish a competitor comparison page for each frequent rival, plus an alternatives page. Show, for example, criteria, price and the customer profile each option serves best.
- Pricing: even without a public price list, give the range and what drives it: users, volume or contract length.
- Case study: write one per industry and company size, with the problem, the solution and the result in numbers.
- Integrations and requirements: list the systems that connect with the product and publish the technical documentation. Include security and LGPD, Brazil’s data protection law. For a manufacturer, for example, the equivalent is specifications, certifications, minimum order and delivery time.
For category questions, also learn when “best X” lists help the brand and when they turn into a risk.
How do you produce technical B2B content with your company’s experts?
Interview the expert instead of expecting them to write on their own. A recorded 30-minute conversation with people who sell, implement or support the product yields material for several pieces. Then the writer drafts the piece, and the expert checks the data and signs it. As a result, the text gains technical accuracy and a real author.
The reason is trust. According to Forrester, buyers tend to contact a vendor based on information from industry experts rather than AI tools. In the Gartner survey of 645 B2B buyers in 2025, 45% used generative AI, mainly to research vendors and products. Even so, 69% prefer to validate what AI told them with a sales rep. Robert Blaisdell, VP Analyst at Gartner, summed up the result:
“B2B buyers are more comfortable using digital channels and GenAI to navigate the purchase process on their own, but that does not eliminate the role of the seller.”
Robert Blaisdell, Gartner (2026)
In other words, in B2B content marketing, experts and sellers must tell the same story as the website.
- Gather the real questions: incoming RFPs, sales objections, support tickets and presales questions.
- Choose one expert per topic: engineering for integrations, finance for pricing and contracts, implementation for timelines and risks.
- Record a 30-minute interview: ask for examples, numbers and common customer mistakes.
- Send the text back for review: the expert checks terms, data and the product’s limits.
- Publish with name and job title: the same material becomes a LinkedIn post for the expert and a script for sales.
Finally, keep the interviews in a shared archive. So the next RFP or comparison page already starts with approved answers.
Where should you publish beyond the blog: LinkedIn, review sites, trade press?
Publish where AI and buyers look for third-party views: your experts’ LinkedIn profiles, review sites and the trade press. In B2B content marketing, the website is still the official source for pricing, offer and integrations. The foundation is the product or service page. But the shortlist relies heavily on what other people say about the brand.
In the G2 survey, chatbots influence the shortlist for 54% of buyers, and review sites for 43%. Vendor websites influence it for 36%. In addition, 45% of buyers say review site citations are the strongest trust signal in an AI answer. In software, for example, that includes G2 itself, Capterra and the Brazilian site B2B Stack. So ask every customer for a review and follow each site’s rules.
On LinkedIn, on the other hand, people count more than the company page. Meltwater, which sells media and AI monitoring, analyzed 9.5 million AI citations across 16 B2B categories. LinkedIn ranked as the second most cited source, behind YouTube. Also, about 75% of LinkedIn citations came from individual profiles, and 51% from profiles with fewer than 10,000 followers. However, the press release doesn’t state the country, the period or the AI engines.
For the trade press and industry associations, use proprietary data, studies and bylined articles. The guide to sources cited by AI covers the source types AI uses most, from Reddit to news reports. Across all channels, keep the same description of your offer. After all, G2 says buyers see it as a red flag when each AI describes the brand differently.
How do you measure B2B content marketing in AI recommendations?
Measure B2B content marketing by recommendation. In other words, count how many AI answers recommend the brand as an option. Use a fixed list of buying questions and repeat it every month. Then add the source each lead reports, visits from AI assistants and opportunities in the CRM.
- Buying questions: 40 to 60 from the five types in the table, phrased as each buying group role would ask.
- Recommendation rate: the share of answers where AI recommends the brand, next to share of voice against 3 to 5 competitors.
- Accuracy: the price, integrations and audience that AI attributes to the brand. In the G2 survey, 64% of buyers run into AI errors at least a few times a month.
- Self-reported source: an open “How did you hear about us?” form field, plus a first-meeting question about the shortlist’s sources.
- Visits and business: AI assistant visits in GA4 and opportunities in the CRM.
The protocol to measure brand mentions and citations in AI covers repetitions and the margin of error. To separate those visits, set up an AI traffic channel in GA4.
G2 also interviewed 39 software marketers, using its own AI interview tool. According to the company, the most frequent complaint was being unable to measure AI’s influence on the pipeline accurately. So combine the signals instead of waiting for a single number. To tie these numbers to the program’s return, see how to calculate content marketing ROI.
What we found when we analyzed 10 Portuguese-language guides on B2B content marketing
We analyzed 10 Portuguese-language pages that showed up in searches for “marketing de conteúdo b2b” (B2B content marketing), “conteúdo b2b” (B2B content) and variations. Three are in European Portuguese. None treats AI as a place where buyers research or build their vendor shortlist. Likewise, none cites review sites or measures brand presence in AI answers.
Only two recommend vendor comparison pages, and only one covers pricing. The suggested metrics range from traffic and search rankings to leads, conversion and revenue. Also, five pages had their last update in 2024 or earlier.
Frequently asked questions
In B2B, the purchase goes through a group of people and takes months. According to Forrester, a typical decision involves 13 people from the buying company and 9 from outside. That is why the content answers each role’s technical, pricing and risk questions. In B2C, one person generally decides alone and faster.
It does, because the shortlist also forms when companies buy physical goods and services. In the 6sense study, physical goods made up 26% of the purchases analyzed, and services 41%. In addition, buying groups formed the shortlist and decided the same way in every industry. For a manufacturer, content swaps integrations for specifications, certifications, minimum order and delivery time.
Yes, because the website is the official source for pricing, offer and integrations, and the blog carries your experts’ voice. In fact, in the G2 survey, vendor websites influence the shortlist for 36% of buyers. Even so, the blog alone isn’t enough, since the shortlist also depends on reviews, LinkedIn and the press.
Want to know how your brand shows up in AI answers today?
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Main sources
- G2, The Answer Economy: How AI Search Is Rewiring B2B Software Buying (2026).
- 6sense, B2B Buyer Experience Report (2025).
- Forrester, The State Of Business Buying: Risk-Averse Buyers Demand Proof, Not Promises (2026).
- Gartner, survey of 645 B2B buyers on AI and sales reps (2026).
- Meltwater, LinkedIn citations in AI answers across 16 B2B categories (2026).
