Building visibility and authority through GEO
I believe the biggest trend we’ll see in 2026 is more of our industrial marketing clients wanting to focus on increasing their visibility in AI Overviews and chatbot responses through Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) techniques. While some technical work is involved, fundamentally, it’s what we’ve always done at SE10: working with our clients’ subject matter experts to build their industry authority on their own platforms and through the media. Since treating GEO as a specific communications goal for some clients since mid-2025, we’ve seen good progress in the AI visibility metrics available to us through tools, such as SEMRush.
Hannah Kitchener, Associate Director – UK
Human-written content beating AI
I think trust is going to be called into question even further in 2026 due to the exponential adoption of AI/GEO search. A recent study by Graphite surveyed 65,000 articles and found that more articles are now written by AI than humans. With these staggering stats comes the question: are publishers diligently publishing AI generated content? In other words, are AI generated articles being fact checked or are they merely being copied and pasted? At SE10 we take a human-machine-human approach to AI. Whilst we integrate it into our everyday work to increase our efficiency and productivity, we still write all our own content. And with Graphite’s study stating that 86% of Google’s top-ranking articles are still written by humans and that 82% of content that ChatGPT cites is also human-written, I think we have the right idea!
Rosie Hopkins, Account Director – UK
A flood of AI generated imagery
We are going to see a lot more AI-generated imagery in 2026, and while it’s quick and you can show precisely what you want, their use poses a reputational risk in industrial B2B communication where trust and authenticity matter. Every synthetic image we use must be clearly labelled as such and in the EU, it’s law. The EU AI Act makes clear disclosure mandatory.
Ben Poulten, Creative Designer – UK
Reputational risks from niche digital forums
We’ve got to stop ignoring the back channels. The risk hiding in those messy, niche digital forms like Reddit and Discord is now a massive reputational headache. Since AI is out there scraping all that unvetted chatter for search answers, a single negative thread can wreck a brand’s credibility globally. For 2026, PR teams need to be ready to step up with authentic urgent engagement and clean-up in these unfiltered real-time communities – not just issue corporate statements.
Damian Joseph, Vice President – USA
Media relations framed as a partnership
The old wall between earned and paid media is collapsing because of commercial pressure and AI scraping. In 2026, we have to treat media relations as a genuine partnership. It’s not about paying for every clip but strategically investing in high-valued formats – such as webinars or detailed content – with core, trusted publications. This isn’t just advertising; it’s an essential investment that ensures those publications stay healthy so that those authoritative platforms are there to amplify our stories and validate our GEO credibility.
Charlie Williams, Associate Director – UK
Quality over quantity of thought leadership
We’ll continue to see the ‘Thought Leadership Olympics’ continue online. But in 2026, it’s not about volume, it’s about impact, and being the most credible source. Companies need to show their deep, genuine technical expertise to cut through the noise and validate high-stakes B2B purchasing decisions.
Ben Shaw, CEO
Greater focus on business impact data
We have seen this over the past few years, but B2B PR is now beyond ‘getting the message out’. It’s about backing up the message with data and impact, creating immersive, interactive experiences, and ensuring the communications strategy aligns with the broader business, regulatory and reputational context.
Jack Porter, Account Manager – UK
Sustainability told as a commercial story
I’m working a lot with clients in the packaging sector, where audiences are tired of generalized sustainability pledges. In 2026, sustainability narratives must be translated into tangible, commercial stories. We need to demand the hard data that shows how circularity is reducing operational costs or how new materials are de-risking the supply chain. If we don’t frame sustainability as a driver of profitability and resilience, the C-suite will never fully buy in.
Mariana Santos, Account Director – USA
A global-local model for international communication
Success in APAC and other diverse markets in 2026 will require centrally aligned strategic content along with hyper-local execution. This means empowering regional teams not just to translate, but to adapt the core corporate narrative to local market regulations, industry events, and the unique cultural media habits of their key stakeholders.
Matt Pearman, Associate Director – Singapore
Hyperlocal storytelling across Asia
In 2026, B2B communications will lean further into hyperlocal storytelling, especially across Asia, where diverse markets demand more than translation. Brands will need to tailor content to reflect local industry priorities, regulations, and culture. We’ll also see a sharper focus on measurement, with clients wanting clear links between PR activity and business impact. At SE10, this means blending creativity with analytics to ensure every story delivers real strategic value.
Salmah El Haissane, Account Manager – Singapore
Video as a default information format
Video is no longer optional; it is the expected information format. Our clients’ customers are busy professionals, and they are now conditioned to quickly understand complex technical data through short-form explainers on platforms such as LinkedIn. In 2026, PR should treat video content as essential, and written press releases should integrate video scripting and production planning from the start.
Zack Shen, Account Executive – USA
Closing the sales loop with marketing automation
The huge shift for organisations of any size in 2026 is to ensure your marketing funnel is connected and that there is no leakage in the pipeline. Not only that, you need to ensure that you are tracking and optimising every touch point to understand the changes in your user behaviour so you can identify exactly which areas to make improvements to. This allows us to integrate elements like the authority we build with our thought leadership content and feed it into automated nurture streams, using lead scoring to identify who is engaging. The ultimate goal is to close the loop by efficiently triggering the sales team with hyper-specific, data-rich talking points, driving tangible, trackable commercial action much faster. Speed, integration, and continuous optimisation are everything now!
Bolly Methakittiworakun, Digital Marketing Manager – UK
New year, new strategies…!
2026, success will depend on the ability to integrate storytelling with data, technology, and purpose. The overarching themes will be credibility, experience, and strategic alignment. This will mean translating business outcomes into narratives that resonate with customers, partners, and employees alike. The brands that thrive will be those that approach PR not as a promotional function, but as a long-term driver of trust, reputation, and measurable business impact.
Find out how SE10 PR can help you with your PR strategies. Get in touch
Jack Porter
Account Manager
About the author
Jack is an account manager based in London, UK, who joined SE10 in 2022, assisting with media coverage and campaign management for European accounts. Arriving from a background in sports writing and video content production, thoughtfulness and consideration in presentation, and networking and building strong client relationships are key skills that have transitioned easily into PR. Jack has extensive experience in interviewing knowledgeable subjects and conveying received information to a wider readership in an understandable, relatable tone.
