Survey: 71% of Marketers Expect AI Assistants to Lead Customer Discovery by 2028
A live survey at HubSpot UNBOUND 2026 found that marketers expect AI assistants to overtake Google search as the main customer discovery channel by 2028, with budgets and responsibilities already shifting.
Marketers surveyed at HubSpot UNBOUND 2026 expect AI assistants to become the leading way customers discover companies by 2028. ACCESS Newswire said 71% of respondents selected AI assistants, while 11% selected Google search as the primary discovery channel.
The survey found that 80% of respondents are increasing or starting a budget for AI search visibility next year. Separately, 29% said they are moving money from paid media into earned and content, while 31% said they are increasing earned and content spending while cutting or shifting paid media during the same twelve months.
The findings also indicate that the change is taking place alongside continued use of existing channels. 43% of respondents reported that organic traffic had eased by 10% to 25% this year, and no respondent reported a steeper decline.
#Artificial Intelligence Is Changing Marketing Roles
91% of respondents said their role had changed during the past 12 months. Two thirds reported taking on new artificial intelligence responsibilities within their existing remit rather than waiting for a formal reorganisation.
When asked about the main topics discussed at the conference, 80% pointed to artificial intelligence. That figure comprised 49% identifying AI search and answer engine optimisation, and 31% identifying AI agents.
The survey found that 69% of marketers regularly check whether AI answers cite their company. 6% said they had never checked.
Measurement practices remain uneven. 43% said they can measure their brand’s visibility in AI answers with tools, while another 46% said they conduct the checks manually, prompt by prompt. Proving return on investment was identified as the priority concern for the coming year by 43% of respondents.
ACCESS Newswire surveyed 35 marketers live during the “Getting Cited: How PR and Marketing Earn Visibility” session at HubSpot UNBOUND 2026 in Boston on September 16, 2026. The session was led by Charlie Terenzio, SVP of Product at ACCESS Newswire.
The questionnaire used single-select questions and two open-response questions. 83% of respondents were brand-side marketers, while 63% worked at companies of 51 to 1,000 employees. The survey describes the views of those respondents and does not establish whether their expectations about customer discovery by 2028 will be realised.
71% of surveyed marketers named AI assistants as customers’ expected primary discovery channel by 2028, compared with 11% for Google search.
80% said they are increasing or starting an AI search visibility budget next year.
91% reported that their role changed during the past 12 months, and two thirds took on new artificial intelligence responsibilities within their existing remit.
69% regularly check whether AI answers cite their company, while 43% can measure that visibility using tools and 46% do so manually.
43% identified proving return on investment as their priority concern for the coming year.
71% of respondents named AI assistants as their customers’ primary discovery channel by 2028, while 11% named Google search. The survey does not establish whether these expectations will be realised.
80% of respondents said they were increasing or starting a budget for AI search visibility next year. Separately, 29% said they were moving money out of paid media into earned and content, while 31% said they were raising that spend while cutting or shifting paid in the same twelve months.
91% of respondents said their role had changed in the past 12 months, and two thirds said they had taken on new artificial intelligence responsibilities within their existing remit. The survey does not quantify the effect of these changes on business results.
69% of marketers said they regularly check whether AI answers cite their company, while 6% said they had never looked. For measurement, 43% said they could measure their brand’s visibility in AI answers using tools, and another 46% said they did so manually, prompt by prompt.
43% named proving return on investment as their priority concern for the coming year, making it the most common answer in the survey. The findings indicate that measurement remains an issue, but do not provide evidence of the return generated by these activities.
43% of respondents said organic traffic had eased by 10% to 25% this year, and no respondent reported a steeper decline. The source also reports that 29% were moving money out of paid media to fund earned and content, but it does not state the financial amounts involved or the resulting commercial impact.
35 marketers were surveyed live during the “Getting Cited: How PR and Marketing Earn Visibility” session at HubSpot UNBOUND 2026 in Boston on September 16, 2026. The instrument comprised single-select questions plus two open-response questions. 83% of respondents were brand-side marketers, and 63% worked at companies of 51 to 1,000 employees. The source does not provide a broader sample or claim that the responses represent all marketers.