Key Takeaways:
- G2 found 51% of B2B software buyers now start their research with AI chatbots, reshaping vendor selection and decision-making.
- AI chatbots are influencing buyer shortlists, with 83% of buyers feeling more confident in their final choice.
A new report from G2 highlights the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) is having with B2B software buyers.
G2’s The Answer Economy: How AI Search Is Rewiring B2B Software Buying report found that 51% of B2B software buyers now begin their purchasing process in an AI chatbot rather than a traditional search engine— and buyers increasingly return to AI chatbots at every stage of their journey.
The shift to AI chatbots as the starting point for software buying increases since G2’s last report, influencing vendor selection, and accelerating decisions— 69% of buyers indicated they chose a different software vendor than they initially planned based on AI chatbot guidance, and one-third purchased from a vendor they had never heard of before.
AI is Influencing Buyers Shortlists
G2 first began tracking this shift to AI search in its April 2025 Buyer Behavior Report. Now the trend shows no signs of plateauing as 83% report feeling more confident in their final choice with AI chatbots the top source influencing which vendors make buyer shortlists.
“We’re watching the third compression era of the buyer journey unfold in real time,” said Tim Sanders, Chief Innovation Officer at G2, in a statement. “The Yellow Pages compressed the market into the big book. Google compressed it into the first page of results. Now, AI chatbots are compressing it into a single answer.”
How B2B Buyers are Relying on AI Chatbots
The report, based on a March 2026 survey of 1,076 B2B software buyers and decision-makers, highlights how AI chatbots have accelerated software research, helping buyers achieve stronger outcomes. Nearly three in four (71%) B2B software buyers rely on AI chatbots for software research, compared to 60% previously. And 53% of B2B software buyers feel research done with an AI chatbot is more productive than traditional search, up from 36%.
In the answer economy, buyers have moved from reference to inference, leveraging AI to synthesize the research process and return a shortlist.
A third of respondents purchased from a vendor they weren’t familiar with. Eighty-five percent of buyers think more highly of a software vendor when an AI chatbot mentions them in a recommendation while four out of five buyers say AI chatbots accelerated their purchasing decision.
How Many Hours a Week Are AI Chatbots Being Used
G2 officials noted today’s software buyer is sophisticated as they increase their time with AI chatbots at work, running head-to-head comparisons, creating deep research reports, and using thinking mode for high-stakes evaluations. Other key finding of the report incldue:
- Nearly two-thirds of buyers now spend six or more hours per week using AI chatbots for work, and over 40% self-identify as power users who leverage them daily.
- Comparing vendor strengths and weaknesses is the top use case for AI chatbots in software research (41%) — ahead of basic product research, vendor identification, and use case validation.
- Forty-one percent of buyers use Deep Research tools regularly for software evaluations.
- ChatGPT remains the dominant AI chatbot for B2B software research (63%), but the competitive landscape is shifting fast.
“Buyers have moved from reference to inference. Instead of gathering sources and synthesizing the data themselves, they trust AI chatbots to return the shortlist in a single prompt. That disrupts how software vendors need to think about their presence,” said Sanders.
