Where Do B2B Buyers Start Their Research Now? (Hint: It's Not Google)
Key Takeaways
AI is now the first stop for many software buyers. G2 surveyed 1,076 B2B software buyers in March 2026. 51% start research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google, up from 29% a year earlier.
Google is the second stop. 61% use AI search alongside Google. Semrush found that 41% of B2B professionals who use AI at work start with AI and then validate in traditional search.
Search is still big. In a Reddit and SurveyMonkey survey of 1,202 US decision-makers, 57% used search engines in early research, more than any other channel.
The shortlist forms before sales hears from you. 6sense reports that four of five shortlist spots are filled on Day 1, and 77% of buyers buy their top-ranked vendor.
AI can put a stranger on the list. One in three G2 respondents bought from a vendor they had never heard of, and 85% think more highly of a vendor an AI answer includes.
Your buyer has a shortlist before your website sees a single visit.
The title says it's not Google. That's half right. AI is where a growing share of B2B buyers start. Google is where many of them go next, to check what the AI told them.
We pulled the research so you can see both steps and what to do about each. Most of the hard numbers come from B2B software buyers, and we say so every time. Where a source covers B2B more broadly, we say that too.
Where do B2B software buyers start their research in 2026?
Increasingly, with an AI chatbot. G2 surveyed 1,076 B2B software buyers and decision-makers in March 2026. 51% said they start research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google.
A year earlier, that number was 29%. G2 also found that 71% rely on AI chatbots at some point in software research.
That's a 22-point swing in twelve months. The wording matters, though. G2 says "more often than Google," not "instead of Google," and the next section depends on that difference.
The Shift to AI Search
AI is becoming the first stop.
B2B software buyers who start research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google.
Source: G2, The Answer Economy (n=1,076 B2B software buyers, March 2026). G2's wording is "more often than Google," not "instead of Google."
Is Google dead for B2B research?
No. It moved to second place.
G2 found that 61% of software buyers use AI search alongside Google. Semrush surveyed 519 US B2B professionals who use AI at work (March to April 2026): 41% start with AI and then validate through traditional search.
Reddit and SurveyMonkey asked 1,202 US decision-makers across categories (December 2025 to January 2026), and 57% used search engines during early research, more than any other channel.
We cite that last one before a reader does. It says search is alive. The other two say where in the journey it sits.
| Source | What it found | Who was asked | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| G2 | 51% start with an AI chatbot more often than with Google | 1,076 B2B software buyers | March 2026 |
| G2 | 61% use AI search alongside Google | Same survey | March 2026 |
| Semrush | 41% start with AI, then validate in traditional search | 519 US B2B professionals who use AI at work | March to April 2026 |
| Reddit and SurveyMonkey | 57% use search engines during early research, the top channel | 1,202 US decision-makers, all categories | Dec 2025 to Jan 2026 |
The pattern is simple. A buyer meets your brand in an AI answer, then goes looking for proof. Google is where that proof gets checked.
The New B2B Buyer Journey
From AI answer to shortlist.
How B2B buyers discover, validate, and narrow their vendor choices.
Ask the AI
The buyer asks a chatbot to find and compare vendors. 51% of software buyers start here more often than with Google (G2).
Check it in search
The buyer looks for proof: your site, reviews, coverage. 61% use AI and Google together (G2). 41% validate in search (Semrush).
Lock the shortlist
Four of five shortlist spots are filled on Day 1, and 77% of buyers buy their top-ranked vendor (6sense).
Sources: G2, Semrush via EMARKETER, and 6sense 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report.
What are buyers asking AI to do?
Shortlist and compare. G2 found that 41% of software buyers use Deep Research tools for structured software evaluations.
Gartner surveyed 646 B2B buyers (August to September 2025): 45% used AI during a recent purchase, and 67% prefer a rep-free buying experience.
The first screening interview for your company is now run by software, and you weren't invited.
How much gets decided before sales hears from the buyer?
Most of it. 6sense's 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Study, with nearly 4,000 responses, found that 94% of buyers ranked their shortlist by preference before contacting any vendor.
Four of five shortlist spots were filled on Day 1.
77% bought their top-ranked vendor, and first contact came about 61% of the way through the process.
6sense did not measure AI usage in that study, so don't read it as an AI number. Read it as the stakes.
The list is set early, and the list is where you win or lose. We made the same case in Mindshare Leads to Intent: be known before the buyer is ready.
What do buyers trust in an AI answer?
A named source, and they still check it. G2 found that 85% of software buyers think more highly of a vendor when an AI answer includes it.
45% say a review-site citation is the most confidence-inspiring signal in an answer. Buyers also know the answers can be wrong: 64% hit AI inaccuracies weekly or more.
The same survey found that 69% chose a different vendor than they first planned after a chatbot recommendation, and one in three bought from a vendor they had never heard of. An AI answer can hand a stranger the shortlist spot your brand spent years earning.
Every G2 number above comes from one survey. Treat it as one study, not six confirmations.
What should a B2B tech company do first?
Find out what the AI says about you, then work through the next three moves in order.
Check what AI says about you today
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok about your category and your brand. Our Free AI Visibility Audit runs that check across all five engines in one pass.
Fix what it gets wrong
Old pricing, retired features, a competitor's framing. AI repeats what it can find, so correct the pages and profiles it reads. We covered what happens when the answer turns ugly in What Does ChatGPT Say About Your Business When You Aren't Looking?
Earn citations where buyers and engines look
Review sites, Reddit, and trade press. G2's data points at review-site citations as the strongest confidence signal. This is Marketing Truth #4: The Cited Get the Business.
Keep the Google content that verifies you
Buyers check the AI's answer in search, so your site, your reviews, and your proof have to hold up at the second stop. For the click-loss side, read The Zero-Click Apocalypse. For the full four-step playbook, read B2B Marketing Post-11/22.
This is the work Today's Media Agency does. We help B2B tech companies win in AI search with our own proprietary tools, built by a team of experts who have been in this market a long time.
Want to see what AI says about you before your next buyer does?
Start with the Free AI Visibility Audit. We check how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok describe your brand today.
Already know you have a gap? Book a strategy call and we'll map where to start.
AI Visibility Audit
Are you showing up in your buyers' AI research?
Discover how ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok describe your brand and whether your business is making the shortlist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do B2B buyers still use Google?
Yes. In a Reddit and SurveyMonkey survey of 1,202 US decision-makers (Dec 2025 to Jan 2026), 57% used search engines during early research, more than any other channel. G2 found that 61% of B2B software buyers use AI search alongside Google. For many buyers, Google is now the second stop, where they check what the AI told them.
What percent of B2B buyers start research with AI?
G2 found that 51% of B2B software buyers start research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google (n=1,076, March 2026), up from 29% a year earlier. Semrush found that 41% of US B2B professionals who use AI at work start with AI and then validate in traditional search. The number depends on who you ask, which is why we show both.
Why do buyers check AI answers in Google?
Because AI answers can be wrong, and buyers know it. G2 reports that 64% of software buyers hit AI inaccuracies weekly or more. Search gives them a second look at your site, your reviews, and third-party coverage before they commit.
Can AI put a vendor on the shortlist that the buyer never heard of?
Yes. In G2's survey, one in three software buyers bought from a vendor they had never heard of, and 69% chose a different vendor than they first planned after a chatbot recommendation. An AI answer can add a name to the list that was not there when the buyer started.
What is the first thing a B2B brand should check?
What AI says about it today. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Grok about your category and your brand, then compare the answers with what is true. The Today's Media Agency Free AI Visibility Audit runs that check across all five engines.
Is this different for B2B companies that do not sell software?
Probably, in the details. The G2 percentages describe software buyers. Gartner, Semrush, Reddit and SurveyMonkey, and 6sense cover B2B buying more broadly, but the share of buyers who start with AI will vary by category.
Research and further reading
Sources
- G2 — New Research: The Answer Economy and How AI Search Is Changing B2B Software Buying
- G2 — The Answer Economy: G2's 2026 AI Search Insight Report
- G2 — Your Buyers Are Using AI to Find Software. Here's What They're Trusting
- EMARKETER — B2B Buyers Start With AI, Then Check Its Work
- EMARKETER — B2B Buyers Still Start Their Research With Search
- Gartner — Sales Survey Finds 67% of B2B Buyers Prefer a Rep-Free Experience
- 6sense — 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report: How AI Is (and Isn't) Disrupting Buying Journeys
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.