AI Visibility Now Drives Inbound Pipeline Growth for B2B Brands
Corporate boards are demanding answers about AI visibility, and marketers who can deliver results are seeing measurable returns on their inbound pipeline.
A new study from Corporate Ink found that 88 percent of senior communications professionals are being asked by leadership or their board about how their brand appears in AI-driven search results and large language models. The pressure is warranted: four out of 10 B2B tech marketing professionals surveyed reported a five to 10 percent increase in inbound pipeline after improving AI visibility, while 19 percent saw gains exceeding 10 percent.
The problem is most teams don't know how to get there. Only 34 percent of the 150 marketing pros surveyed said they have a defined AI visibility strategy and feel prepared to influence generative AI engines. Another 43 percent described themselves as "somewhat prepared," leaving 20 percent still in early stages.
The Knowledge Gap
Limited expertise is the biggest barrier. Fifty-four percent of respondents cited "limited GEO knowledge and expertise" as their top obstacle, according to the study. GEO stands for generative engine optimization - the practice of ensuring your brand and content surface in AI-generated answers.
Other major hurdles include lack of coordination between content, PR, and web teams (39 percent), difficulty measuring success and tracking deal flow (31 percent), and insufficient tools and budget (28 percent).
Many communicators lack basic intelligence about their target market. Less than half (43 percent) know which buyer-centric prompts they want to appear for, and only 37 percent understand which sources carry the most weight with LLMs in their industry.
"LLMs weight sources differently in every market, and most teams have no idea what those sources are," said Greg Hakim, CEO of Corporate Ink. "That's not a content problem or an SEO problem - it's an analytics and intelligence problem. You can't build visibility in a landscape you haven't mapped."
What to Look for in an Agency Partner
The study recommends CMOs evaluate PR agencies on several criteria when selecting a partner to manage AI visibility:
- Does the agency track AI visibility as a measurable deliverable?
- Can they show you where and when your brand appears (or doesn't appear) in AI-generated answers?
- Can they explain why your brand ranks as it does?
- Do they have the intelligence to identify which sources influence LLMs in your market?
CMOs should also prioritize defining their AI visibility strategy, auditing what AI engines currently say about their brand, and emphasizing earned media and third-party credibility signals.
The Corporate Ink study was conducted in partnership with market research firm Prodedge and included responses from CMOs, vice presidents, senior vice presidents, and directors of marketing.
For PR and communications professionals looking to build expertise in this area, resources like AI for PR & Communications and the AI Learning Path for CMOs offer structured guidance on strategy and execution.
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