What investment shift are B2B CMOs planning for AEO and GEO in 2026 compared to 2025?

In short

CMOs went from 0% investment in AEO/GEO in 2025 to 36% saying they would invest in that channel in 2026.

Chris Long, Founder & CEO at Nective · AI Reveals Competitor Content Strategies in Minutes with Chris Long · This New Way · answer at 8:23

Key takeaways

• CMOs went from 0% investment in AEO/GEO in 2025 to 36% saying they would invest in that channel in 2026.

Quote to remember

“Treating agents as a VIP customer, because agents are going to be a significant user of your site and for many people, probably the primary user of their experience with the web will be done through an agent, not necessarily them browsing the web themselves.”

— Chris Long

The full answer · about 1 min

CMOs went from 0% investment in AEO/GEO in 2025 to 36% saying they would invest in that channel in 2026. It was actually the second biggest investment channel right under AI and automation tooling. Many CMOs view it as a separate investment category from traditional SEO rather than a shift of existing SEO budgets.

Key facts

• 73% of B2B CMOs use Google Search as a verification layer, not a discovery layer
• LLMs have 12% market share of Google but send only 1% of the clicks
• 0% investment in AEO/GEO in 2025 to 36% of CMOs investing in 2026
• AEO/GEO was the second biggest investment channel right under AI and automation tooling
• GoFish Digital SEO division had roughly 80 to 100 people when Chris Long worked there

People, companies and topics mentioned

More answers from this episode

• 2:18What percentage of B2B CMOs use LLMs as their primary discovery method versus Google Search as a verification layer?
• 3:08How does WebMCP help AI agents interact more precisely with website forms and e-commerce features?