For the second yr in a row, we have surveyed entrepreneurs to know the affect AI is having on all elements of content material advertising.
301 respondents shared what they’re utilizing AI for, the way it impacts their productiveness, their favourite instruments, and extra.
Key takeaways:
- AI use in content material creation is nearly ubiquitous, with 93% of respondents saying they put it to use
- Claude is the most-used mannequin for content material creation, chosen by 83.2% of respondents, adopted by ChatGPT (75.7%) and Gemini (57.9%).
- Twice as many entrepreneurs use AI to verify AI-assisted content material (from 14% in 2025 to twenty-eight.6% in 2026).
- Extra of the content material respondents are producing is ≥75% AI, however that is nonetheless the minority of what is printed
93% of respondents are utilizing AI to assist create content material
Out of 301 responses, 280 (93%) reported utilizing AI to create or assist create content material, up from 87% in final yr’s survey.
Among the many 6.98% who do not use AI, nearly all cited accuracy as a priority, and greater than half stated they often mistrust AI-generated content material.
Whereas the numbers are substantial, they should not be too shocking.
As Ahrefs’ Ryan Legislation beforehand famous, with numerous “legacy” instruments like Gmail, Google Docs, and Slack every getting AI integrations, the alternatives to put it to use are all over the place.
Then there’s the expansion of platforms like ChatGPT basically. OpenAI introduced 800 million weekly energetic customers in October 2025, 900 million in February 2026, and handed 1 billion by the top of July.
61% say their view of AI-generated content material has develop into extra constructive
Greater than half of respondents famous their view of AI-generated content material has develop into extra constructive over the previous yr. 38% say it is considerably extra constructive and 23% say it is rather more constructive.
Whereas we do not have information on precisely why that’s, a mixture of mannequin enhancements, operational efficiencies, and constructing higher techniques probably had some affect.
For instance, as Ahrefs’ Director of Content material Advertising, Ryan makes use of 23 skill-file course of as a part of his content material engineering workflow.
Guides like these acorss the net have probably impressed individuals to enhance the outputs they’ll generate.
AI helps entrepreneurs produce content material sooner
85% of entrepreneurs utilizing AI say they’re producing content material sooner since adopting it: 47.9% say they are much faster and 37.1% say they’re barely faster.
Simply 2.5% say AI has slowed down their content material manufacturing.
Final yr we highlighted that AI customers printed 42% extra content material than non-AI customers. This yr, the pace of content material creation is without doubt one of the clear highlights.
AI use is rising quickest for specialised duties like information evaluation and key phrase clustering
Amongst entrepreneurs utilizing AI, the largest will increase over final yr had been for extra specialised duties.
Utilizing AI for information evaluation rose from 28% to 60%, picture creation from 19% to 43%, and key phrase clustering from 23% to 45%.
Curiously, in final yr’s information, these had been a number of the least in style makes use of of AI.
Once more, development right here might be a mixture of improved fashions and outputs, extra individuals sharing their workflows, AI use turning into recurring, and related elements.
Claude is the most-used AI instrument amongst respondents
Amongst respondents who use AI, 83% use Claude, 76% use ChatGPT, and 58% use Gemini.
They had been adopted by Claude Cowork (42%), Claude Code (37%), and Codex (13%).
It was nearly a yr in the past that Claude launched SKILL.md information, permitting customers to create reproducible processes simply.
Whereas I acknowledge I could also be in a advertising “bubble” at instances, it appeared to coincide with a transparent shift in direction of utilizing the platform over the likes of ChatGPT. 68% of survey respondents who use AI say they use ability information, with 55% creating their very own.
Although, in fact, issues can swiftly change on this period of fashions one-upping one another.
The 2025 survey requested which instrument respondents used to create content material, whereas this yr’s query allowed a number of choices, so the figures aren’t a direct market-share comparability.
Some individuals additionally wrote in instruments that had been already choices, which had been added to the full counts.
Solely 2.7% of entrepreneurs belief AI-generated content material with none human assessment
Two-thirds (66%) of entrepreneurs belief AI-generated content material provided that a human opinions it first. Simply 2.7% belief it with no assessment in any respect.
Amongst entrepreneurs who use AI, mistrust is uncommon: simply 6% say they often mistrust it, in contrast with 57% of those that do not use AI in any respect.
69% of AI customers say the share of AI content material they publish grew previously yr
Throughout all respondents, 69% say they’re publishing a bigger share of AI content material than a yr in the past. Amongst AI customers, the determine rises to nearly three-quarters (74%).
It is essential to notice that development in AI-assisted content material does not imply extra unedited writing.
Amongst respondents who answered that none of their printed content material is pure AI, greater than half (58%) nonetheless famous their share has grown.
Most respondents say human writing nonetheless beats their AI content material
56% of AI customers say human-written content material is best high quality than their AI content material, and 23% say it is “approach higher”.
Curiously, quite a lot of the standard perspective will depend on who you ask.
Virtually half (43%) of founders and enterprise homeowners say their AI content material beats human writing, in comparison with simply 17% of junior and mid-level entrepreneurs.
Twice as many entrepreneurs now use AI to verify AI content material
29% of entrepreneurs utilizing AI now ask AI to verify the standard of their AI-generated content material, up from 14% final yr.
Respondents had been inspired to pick out all choices that apply, so the solutions can add as much as greater than 100%.
The commonest technique to verify outputs is handbook self-checking. This yr, even fewer respondents stated they do not verify outcomes in any respect.
41% of respondents aren’t saving cash on writers with AI
Virtually half of these utilizing AI say it hasn’t saved them any cash on writers or freelancers, and 26% do not know whether or not it has.
A transparent clarification is that solely 28% of AI customers work with outdoors writers. The remainder create content material in-house, or write it themselves.
Amongst those that reported saving cash, the everyday financial savings are $1,001-$2,000 a month.
Solely 22% of respondents disclose AI use, however that is a rise from final yr
78% of entrepreneurs utilizing AI do not inform web site guests they’ve used AI to assist create their content material. 22% overtly disclose it, up from 16% in our 2025 survey.
Lots of this probably will depend on what individuals rely as ‘AI content material.’
If you happen to’re getting suggestions on stats or the construction of an article, that is one thing completely completely different to having AI write most (if not all) of the phrases on the web page.
Curiously, although, these publishing probably the most pure AI content material weren’t any extra more likely to disclose it.
7% of respondents publish primarily “pure” AI content material
7% of entrepreneurs utilizing AI say greater than 75% of the content material they publish is pure AI, with none enhancing or extra enter. That is up from 4% in 2025.
40% say not one of the content material they publish is pure AI, down from 50% final yr.
If you happen to’re excited about rising or refining your individual AI content material workflows, my colleague Mateusz wrote a information on inventive methods to write down with AI (with out shedding your soul).
