How Do Buyers Build a Vendor Shortlist With AI, and How Do You Get On It?
Key Takeaways
Buyers use AI to name and compare vendors. G2 surveyed 1,076 B2B software buyers in March 2026. 54% named gen AI chatbots as a source that influences which vendors make the shortlist, the top answer.
Most AI-using buyers say it shaped their list. Semrush found that 92% of 519 US B2B professionals who use AI at work say AI has shaped their vendor shortlist, and 48% use it to narrow the list.
Fit and clarity beat fame. In the same Semrush survey, 53% noticed a vendor that closely matches their use case and 50% a clear, detailed description. 7% said brand recognition.
The list is short. TrustRadius reports that 83% of buyers shortlisted three or fewer products.
The AI answer is the opening, not the close. After AI mentions a vendor, 71% visit its website, 63% search Google, and 38% check G2 or a similar site.
A buyer asks an AI which vendors fit their problem. It names a few. Those are the companies the buyer looks up next.
If you're not in that answer, you're not in the first round. This post covers how buyers use AI to build the list, what the data says gets a vendor named, and what a B2B tech company can do about it.
For the bigger picture of where buyers start, read Where Do B2B Buyers Start Their Research Now?
Two honest limits. Nobody outside the AI companies has a formula for inclusion, and the best surveys come from companies with something to sell.
G2 sells review services. Semrush sells AI visibility tools.
We sell this work too, so every number below links to its source.
How do buyers use AI to build a vendor shortlist?
They ask it to name and compare vendors. G2 surveyed 1,076 B2B software buyers in March 2026. 54% named gen AI chatbots as a source that influences which vendors make the shortlist, the top answer.
Review sites came second, followed by market research firms and vendor websites, with peers and independent forums behind them. Buyers could name more than one source, so the figures add past 100%.
G2's report also says over two-thirds of buyers start with category or competitor queries, and that comparing vendor strengths and weaknesses is the top reason buyers use chatbots in software research.
Semrush surveyed 643 US B2B professionals in March and April 2026. Among the 519 who use AI at work, 92% said AI has shaped their vendor shortlist, and 45% said significantly. 48% use it to narrow the shortlist, and 62% use it when actively comparing vendors.
The two surveys ask different questions of different groups, so don't add them together. They agree on one thing: AI is in the room when the list gets made.
Shortlist Influence
What influences which vendors make the shortlist?
Share of B2B software buyers naming each source. Respondents could select more than one.
Source: G2, The Answer Economy (n=1,076 B2B software buyers, March 2026). G2 sells review services.
What do buyers type to find vendors?
Questions about a category, an alternative, a comparison, or a fit. G2's research describes the query types. The example prompts below are ours, written to show the pattern.
| Query type | Example prompt | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Category | "Best [category] software for a mid-market B2B company" | Whether you're named at all |
| Alternative | "Alternatives to [competitor]" | Whether you show up beside the leader |
| Comparison | "[Vendor A] vs. [Vendor B] for [use case]" | How you're described against a rival |
| Fit | "Which [category] tool works for a [role] at a [size] company?" | Whether the AI knows who you're for |
| Brand | "What does [your company] do, and who is it for?" | Whether the description is right |
Buyers act on these answers. G2 found that 69% chose a different vendor than they first planned after a chatbot recommendation.
Run all five prompts on your own company. Our Free AI Visibility Audit does it across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok.
What makes AI name one vendor and skip another?
Buyers say fit and clarity. Asked what makes a vendor stand out in an AI answer, Semrush's respondents said:
- 53%: it closely matches my use case
- 50%: it has a clear, detailed description
- 36%: it is mentioned early or first
- 7%: brand recognition
Fit and clarity are yours to fix. Brand recognition barely registers. That's what buyers say they notice, though. It doesn't prove what the models weigh.
For a look at the machine side, Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands in 2025. Branded web mentions correlated with brand mentions in Google AI Overviews at 0.664. Backlinks correlated at 0.218. That's a correlation on one engine, not proof of cause.
The practical read is that being talked about across the web looks like a stronger signal than the link count alone.
Reviews and consistency matter to the buyer's trust. G2 found that 45% say a review-site citation is the most confidence-inspiring signal in an AI answer. When ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude describe a vendor the same way, buyers read that as a reason to trust it.
What Gets Noticed
What makes a vendor stand out in an AI answer?
Share of B2B professionals who use AI at work saying each factor makes a vendor stand out.
Source: Semrush, How AI Tools Shape the B2B Buying Process (n=519 US B2B professionals who use AI at work, March to April 2026). Self-reported. Semrush sells AI visibility tools.
What happens after the AI names you?
The buyer checks you. Semrush asked what buyers do next: 71% visit the vendor's website, 63% search Google, 46% compare alternatives, 41% ask the AI follow-up questions, 38% check G2 or a similar site, and 14% ask colleagues.
The list is also short. TrustRadius reports that 83% of buyers shortlisted three or fewer products, based on its January 2026 survey of nearly 2,500 technology buyers and vendors. Three slots, and an AI is choosing who gets them.
Buyers know the answers have holes. Semrush found that 66% have spotted relevant vendors missing from AI results. So a missing name sends some of them back to Google to keep looking. Don't count on that.
How do you get on the shortlist?
Five moves, in this order. None of them guarantees a spot. Engines change, and answers vary from run to run.
Run the prompts on yourself
Use the five query types above on all five engines. Record whether you're named, how you're described, and who sits beside you. Start with the Free AI Visibility Audit.
Say who you're for
Buyers notice use-case fit and clear descriptions. Put one plain sentence at the top of your homepage and each service page: what you do, for whom, and what problem it solves. Build a page for each use case, industry, and buyer role you want to be named for.
Build your footprint outside your site
Review profiles, Reddit threads, trade press, and analyst mentions. Ahrefs found that web mentions track with AI brand mentions, and G2 found that review citations build buyer trust. This is Marketing Truth #4: The Cited Get the Business.
Make every description match
Use the same category label, the same one-line description, and the same facts on your site, your review profiles, LinkedIn, and directories. We covered how to check this in What Does ChatGPT Say About Your Business When You Aren't Looking?
Let your site finish the job
71% of buyers visit the site after the AI names you, and 63% search Google. Your pages need to answer fit, pricing context, and proof in the first scroll.
A paid slot under the answer buys visibility next to it, not a place in it. We took that apart in Should Your B2B Brand Run ChatGPT Ads?
This is the work Today's Media Agency does. We help B2B tech companies get named in AI answers with our own proprietary tools, built by a team of experts who have been in this market a long time.
Want to know if you're on the list?
Start with the Free AI Visibility Audit. We check how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok describe your brand and which competitors they name beside you.
Already know you're missing? Book a strategy call and we'll map where to start.
AI Visibility Audit
Is your brand making the AI shortlist?
Find out whether AI platforms recognize your business, how they describe your offerings, and which competitors they recommend alongside you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do B2B buyers build a vendor shortlist with AI?
They ask a chatbot to name and compare vendors in a category, then verify the names. G2 found that 54% of software buyers name gen AI chatbots as a source that influences the shortlist, and over two-thirds start with category or competitor queries. After the AI names a vendor, 71% visit its website and 63% search Google.
What percent of B2B buyers use AI to shortlist vendors?
It depends on the question. In Semrush's survey of 519 US B2B professionals who use AI at work (March to April 2026), 92% said AI has shaped their vendor shortlist. In G2's survey of 1,076 software buyers (March 2026), 54% named gen AI chatbots as a source that influences the shortlist. The groups and questions differ, so the numbers should not be added together.
Why isn't my company showing up in AI answers?
Nobody outside the AI companies can say for certain, but the research points to a few causes. Semrush found that buyers notice vendors that closely match their use case (53%) and describe themselves clearly (50%). Ahrefs found that brands mentioned often across the web show up more in Google AI Overviews. A vague description, a thin footprint outside your own site, or conflicting descriptions across profiles are the first things to check. Two-thirds of buyers say they have spotted relevant vendors missing from AI results.
Do reviews matter for AI vendor recommendations?
They matter to buyers. G2 found that 45% say a review-site citation is the most confidence-inspiring signal in an AI answer, and Semrush found that 38% check G2 or a similar site after AI mentions a vendor. G2 sells review services, so read its numbers with that in mind.
Does brand recognition matter for getting on an AI shortlist?
Less than fit and clarity, according to buyers. In Semrush's survey, 53% said a vendor that closely matches their use case stands out, 50% said a clear, detailed description, and 7% said brand recognition. Ahrefs found that branded web mentions track with AI Overview mentions, which suggests that being talked about across the web helps even when buyers do not consciously notice it.
How can I check whether AI recommends my company?
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok the category, alternative, comparison, fit, and brand questions a buyer would ask, then record whether you are named, how you are described, and who sits beside you. The Today's Media Agency Free AI Visibility Audit runs that check across all five engines.
Research and further reading
Sources
- G2 — The Answer Economy: G2's 2026 AI Search Insight Report
- G2 — The Answer Economy Research Report (PDF)
- G2 — The Answer Economy Research Announcement, April 2026
- G2 — Your Buyers Are Using AI to Find Software. Here's What They're Trusting
- Semrush — How AI Tools Shape the B2B Buying Process
- TrustRadius — 2026 B2B Buying Disconnect Report Findings
- Ahrefs — AI Overview Brand Correlation Study
Editorial Transparency
Who worked on this post
Three AI tools were used in the creation of this blog post to support research, drafting, editing, and optimization. Final direction, review, and publishing were completed by the Today’s Media team.