How B2B Buyers Are Using AI to Research Vendors in 2026

The B2B buying journey has quietly moved. According to Forrester data reported by MarTech, up to 90% of B2B buyers already use generative AI tools somewhere in their buying process. Research firm 6Sense puts a number on just how independent that research has become: buyers now spend 83% of their time researching away from sales reps entirely, before a vendor even knows they're being considered.

If your buyers are doing most of their evaluation inside an AI conversation, being well-optimised for Google isn't enough on its own anymore.

AI is already shaping the shortlist

The same MarTech report cites Digiday data showing sales conversions driven by ChatGPT recommendations have increased 436% year over year. That's not a marginal shift, it suggests AI tools are actively influencing which vendors get shortlisted before a single sales conversation happens.

Separate research from Corporate Visions, cited in SEO Sherpa's B2B benchmarking data, found that 94% of B2B buyers now use large language models during their buying process, and 72% have already encountered Google's AI Overviews during research. Meanwhile, Google's own Think with Google research found 71% of B2B research starts with a generic, category-level query rather than a specific brand name, exactly the kind of query an AI model is most likely to answer with its own recommendation.

Authority and credibility now do double duty

Unlike a traditional search results page, an AI-generated answer doesn't show a buyer ten options to compare, it tends to surface a small handful, if not just one. That makes third-party credibility, case studies, reviews, analyst mentions, genuine expertise, more important than ever, because it's often what an AI model is drawing on to decide who to recommend in the first place.

This is also why traditional Digital PR and thought leadership work is becoming more valuable rather than less. It's not just about visibility with a human audience anymore, it's about being one of the credible sources an AI model has learned to trust.

What this means for B2B marketing teams

If most of your buyers are researching with AI before they ever speak to sales, generative engine optimisation needs to sit alongside traditional SEO and demand generation, not behind it. That means structured, factual content that answers real buyer questions, and a genuine presence in the third-party sources AI models are already citing.