Pockets of ‘rivalry anxiety’ have emerged. 62% of CMOs say they lack the skills, budget, or resources to compete with faster-moving challengers. And 35% are concerned their rivals are outpacing them in the race to adapt for generative engine optimisation (GEO) and zero-click search.
The survey compared the responses of 200 CMOs at venture-backed startups to those of 200 CMOs at billion-dollar tech brands, revealing two divergent paths to reclaim influence.
- Venture-backed startups are moving the fastest to measure share of AI voice (39% compared with 26% at billion-dollar firms) and are more focused on cultivating relationships with journalists at emerging publications (22% vs. 11% respectively)
- CMOs at billion-dollar companies are prioritising diverse storytelling formats – broadcast, webinars, and podcasts – to reclaim influence (37%, vs. 26% at VC-backed startups). They are also investing more in brand-owned channels (27% vs. 20% respectively)
The report, ‘How to win influence in B2B tech’, highlights opportunities, pivots, and pitfalls for marketing leaders in 2026.
1. Fast-moving challengers can pull ahead as CMOs admit they lack the brand and go-to-market (GTM) playbooks to respond at speed
Despite 62% of CMOs feeling underequipped to compete with fast-moving challengers, many are still not investing in the playbooks or coordinated GTM operating models needed to respond at speed. For example, 61% admit that they are either not proficient or only “mildly proficient” at maintaining a single, shared brand story. And just 16% have a plan in place to protect their company’s reputation if a crisis emerges.
2. Six in 10 tech CMOs are rethinking marketing for GEO, making ‘share of AI voice’ the top visibility metric now reported to CEOs
61% of tech CMOs are already rethinking their marketing to optimise for AI engines, as traditional search performance declines. VC-backed startups are feeling this shift most acutely (56% vs. 29% at billion-dollar companies). The shift is also reflected in the top visibility metrics being reported to CEOs, led by share of AI voice (33%), ahead of share of traditional search (21%), and share of media voice (19%).
3. Crafting memorable brand narratives is the Achilles’ heel for tech CMOs, with half unable to achieve messaging alignment between internal teams
Six in 10 (61%) tech CMOs say they perform “below par” or “struggle” to define and sustain a distinctive narrative that buyers can instantly recognise, recall, and repeat. A further 58% find it difficult to hold buyer attention beyond campaign moments. And many fail at the first hurdle: 50% believe they perform below average at aligning internal teams on core brand messages, preventing them from amplifying a single, cohesive story across platforms.
4. CMOs say thought leadership is their top growth lever, outranking partnerships and even AI
Thought leadership has emerged as CMOs’ leading tactic for driving growth, selected by 40%. This edges out strategic partnerships, as a means to boost reach, credibility, and market access (38%). And just one in three CMOs (33%) said they were planning to grow by integrating AI into their core proposition and communications to strengthen positioning and boost marketing efficiency.
5. Attention beats reach and LLM partnerships when targeting media exclusives
38% of tech CMOs would prioritise publications with a C-suite persona-targeted newsletter, such as Fortune CEO Daily or Forbes CMO, when pitching stories for a media exclusive. It’s the most popular option, ahead of digital-first premium national/business titles (29%), favoured for their broader audience reach and measurable impact on web traffic. Notably, 12% would now consider a publication’s partnerships with LLMs when deciding where to target an exclusive.
6. More than half of CMOs are planning to boost multimedia content on LinkedIn, as brand engagement on the platform declined in 2025
LinkedIn company page visibility reportedly dropped from 2.1% to 1.6% of user feeds between February and October 2025. At the same time, videos and carousels were reported to drive higher engagement rates. These changes have prompted tech CMOs to respond. VC-backed startups are moving fastest to reclaim influence here: 60% plan to invest more in video and multimedia formats for LinkedIn, compared with 48% of billion-dollar tech companies.
7. Go-to-market teams are well aligned on KPIs, but falter when it comes to execution
46% of tech CMOs say joint planning and goal setting across marketing, PR, and sales is now an “embedded” or “advanced” capability at their organisations. However, only 24% say their teams show the same flair for powering sales enablement with PR content, highlighting a disconnect between go-to-market planning and execution.
Measurement is another area of weakness: 59% say they’re only “mildly proficient” at best when tying PR and marketing metrics directly to sales pipeline and conversion data. But CMOs are planning improvements for 2026: 43% at VC-backed start-ups plan to better integrate marketing, comms, and sales in their social selling efforts, alongside 35% at billion-dollar tech companies.
Industry leaders reacted to the findings with a clear consensus on the opportunities created by AI.
Stephanie Robotham, Value Accelerator Operating Advisor at Goldman Sachs Asset Management noted: “AI has handed venture-backed startups a strategic advantage. It lets them build visibility fast by shaping marketing and communications for both humans and machines. The trick is spotting the new levers of influence, so they can earn trust and relevance at a quicker rate than their competitors.”
Samanyou Garg, CEO, Writesonic, highlighted a growing focus on performance metrics: “B2B tech brands should focus on understanding three key AI search metrics: AI visibility score – how often your brand is recommended; citation share – how often your content is used as a source; and share of voice – how prominently you appear versus competitors in AI answers.”
Ruth Jones, CEO, 3Thinkrs said: “AI has shaken the economics of brand influence and discovery for tech companies, giving marketers a rare opportunity to gain more influence, just as their competitors are losing it. Those that define a distinctive brand narrative, shift strategies for the changing algorithms, and adjust content formats will steal the charge.”
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