AI-Driven Discovery: The Rise of Trusted Voices in B2B Marketing

As artificial intelligence changes how buyers discover products and services online, B2B brands will increasingly need to invest in thought leadership, trusted voices and creator-led storytelling, according to Sachin Sharma, Head, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions, India.

Speaking about the evolving B2B marketing landscape, Sharma said the rise of AI-led search and large language models is changing how audiences discover information, products and expertise.

“A lot of people are now realising that storytelling and what your brand stands for, your core value proposition, is becoming more important,” Sharma said, adding that buyers are increasingly relying on trusted individuals and authoritative voices while making decisions.

According to Sharma, the shift is making thought leadership increasingly important for B2B brands, as AI-led discovery tools continue to reference credible experts and authoritative sources while surfacing information.

He noted that as users increasingly turn to LLM tools and AI-first searches to discover products and services, these platforms tend to reference people who are seen as trusted experts within their domains.

Sharma noted that LinkedIn has emerged as a key platform in this shift. He added that brands are now recognising the importance of being present in trusted professional ecosystems and being seen as trusted sources of information through content.

At the same time, Sharma highlighted LinkedIn’s growing focus on creator-led and thought leadership-driven advertising formats, including BrandLink, thought leadership ads and document ads.

“What we are trying to do on the advertising side is we have launched a lot of new formats,” he said, adding that the platform has evolved beyond professional networking into a larger content and brand-building ecosystem.

According to Sharma, LinkedIn is witnessing strong engagement trends in India, with users not only spending more time on the platform but also increasingly creating their own content.

He said, "the platform is seeing a growing number of users creating video content and taking on a stronger thought leadership presence through their posts and interactions."

On AI’s broader impact on marketing, Sharma said, "the industry’s current focus on operational efficiencies and content generation may only represent the early phase of transformation."

He argued that AI’s real value in B2B marketing will go beyond automating content creation and distribution, and instead lie in helping brands better identify audiences, understand intent and build smarter engagement strategies.

He also pointed to a major behavioural shift among buyers, who are increasingly researching products through AI engines before ever interacting with sales teams.

He said, “Buyers are not coming to platforms or search engines to discover tech and services. They are already using AI engines.”

The nature of professional content on LinkedIn is also changing, he observed. Citing recent LinkedIn research, Sharma said 75% of members surveyed said they post personal updates, ambitions and milestones on the platform.

This shift towards more personality-led and personal storytelling is also changing the kind of engagement seen on the platform, with users increasingly sharing anecdotes and experiences beyond work-related achievements, making content feel more authentic and relatable.

At the same time, he cautioned against an overdependence on AI-generated content. “What we’ll have to safeguard against is just a lot of AI-generated content,” Sharma said, while adding that LinkedIn is still seeing users create “a lot of different kinds of content.”

LinkedIn is also seeing growing openness among B2B brands towards creator partnerships and influencer collaborations, an area where the sector has traditionally shown hesitation.

“The reason is very simple. People want to understand what others that they trust are saying about products and services,” he explained.

Addressing conversations around shrinking attention spans, Sharma argued that the problem lies less with audience behaviour and more with the quality of content being produced. “I don’t think there is an attention deficit. I think there is a lot of poor content that is failing to engage people.”

Looking ahead, Sharma identified three trends that he believes will shape the next phase of growth in India’s B2B marketing ecosystem: deeper AI integration beyond operational use cases, stronger investments in storytelling and thought leadership, and increased collaboration between brands, creators and influencers.