AI is fundamentally changing how buyers discover B2B technology brands, and the impact is larger than many marketing teams realize. This blog is Part 2 of our series on 2026 marketing budgets. In Part 1, we explored how much CMOs are investing in PR and social programs. Now we examine what those investments must accomplish in a world where AI has become the first and most influential discovery engine.
Across the industry, marketing teams are confronting a new source of pressure. Executives continue to demand stronger lead generation, yet the path to pipeline increasingly depends on something more fundamental: whether AI systems recognize a brand at all. Large language models (LLMs) do not respond to clever SEO tactics or dense nurture workflows. They reward brands that appear credible, consistent, and validated across the public ecosystem. When organizations delay PR or sideline thought leadership, the consequence is not merely a lack of coverage. It is the loss of discoverability. In the AI era, unseen brands are unselected brands.
AI Has Become the New Front Door to Brand Discovery
In 2025, PR moved from a supporting function to a core driver of brand visibility. It no longer exists solely to help reporters understand a company’s story. PR now supports the invisible engines of discovery that determine whether a brand appears in buyer research at all.
Buyers regularly turn to LLMs with intent-driven questions such as “best enterprise cybersecurity products for midmarket organizations” or “top energy management platforms for utilities.” What appears in response is not driven by keyword density. It is shaped by authority signals, including narrative consistency, expert commentary, customer and partner validation, and the overall volume and quality of public signals surrounding a brand.
This shift is reflected in the 2026 Marketing Budget Blueprint. More than half of marketing leaders, 56%, report carrying a specific KPI for brand awareness and content. Slightly fewer track KPIs for lead generation at 55% and customer marketing at 50%.
Performance still matters, but it is now evaluated alongside trust and recognition. Being known and being credible are prerequisites for meaningful buyer engagement.
The New Role of PR in AI Driven Discovery
Traditional PR focused on coverage volume, backlinks, and media relationships to influence perception. In an AI-governed discovery landscape, PR plays a different role. It teaches AI systems how to understand and categorize a brand.
PR establishes a unified voice across channels, giving AI models a coherent identity to recognize and recall. It delivers expert-driven content that acts as training data for AI systems. Launch narratives, industry commentary, customer proof points, analyst quotes, and category framing each contribute to how AI understands a company’s relevance.
According to our research, marketers are increasing product marketing spend across key areas, including product launches at 54%, competitive intelligence at 52%, and data analytics at 49%. We find this is tied closely to the brand initiative, as these investments achieve their full value when PR and social amplification make them visible and interpretable within AI discovery environments.
Customers and Partners as Authority Signals
Customer programs continue to play a central role in marketing plans and are proven to have strategic significance. Within the customer marketing budget, which represents 12.9% of total marketing spend, organizations prioritize customer loyalty programs at 18.1%, community building at 17.2%, and advocacy programs at 17%.
These investments matter because AI processes content everywhere. Forums, reviews, social conversations, case studies, and community discussions all contribute to how brands are interpreted. When customers speak publicly on your behalf, they reinforce trust signals that AI can detect and amplify. In this environment, customers become an extension of the PR function.
Partners serve a similar role. Partnership and channel marketing accounts for 10.5% of the total marketing budget, with the largest shares allocated to joint campaigns at 26.8% of the partnership budget and co-marketing events at 26.5%. When credible partners validate a shared message, AI interprets that alignment as third-party authority, increasing the likelihood of inclusion in AI-generated vendor recommendations.
Strategic Priorities for Marketing Leaders in 2026
As generative AI becomes the dominant interpretive layer for B2B discovery, leading organizations are adjusting their strategies in several key ways.
1. Integrate PR into product strategy
PR should be treated as foundational, not supplemental. Product launches should be built with PR from the start, ensuring messaging, proof points, customer stories, and partner alignment are ready when visibility matters most.
2. Treat customers and partners as core channels
Invest in programs that encourage public, searchable advocacy. Testimonials, reviews, community engagement, and partner commentary all serve as authority building assets.
3. Create AI-ready PR content
Clear structure matters. Headlines, summaries, quotes, FAQs, and consistent framing help journalists and AI systems interpret a brand accurately and efficiently.
4. Measure discoverability, not only impressions.
Beyond reach and engagement, teams should monitor how often their brand appears in third-party summaries, category recaps, and vendor lists. They should also monitor how often their brand is surfaced in prompts related to your category. These signals increasingly define AI visibility.
PR Is the Foundation of Visibility in the AI Era
PR’s role now extends far beyond traditional communications. In 2026, PR shapes how AI systems evaluate expertise, credibility, and relevance. It supplies the evidence that determines whether a brand is surfaced, recommended, or shortlisted.
In a world where AI reads exponentially more content than any human audience, PR has become the foundation of brand visibility. Organizations that invest in authority-driven narratives, customer and partner advocacy, and AI-ready content will define the next generation of category leaders.
In the age of LLM-driven discovery, PR is not optional. It is the gateway to being found, trusted, and chosen.