B2B software buying is evolving. Gone are the days of the search engine deep dive, building an initial spreadsheet, and then a second round of research to whittle it down to a shortlist. That time-consuming project now takes minutes instead of hours.
Most software buyers aren’t in procurement. It isn’t their full-time job, but something they do to find solutions that augment their work and solve business problems. They don’t have extra time to navigate websites and promotional messaging. As a result, AI is sharply compressing the buying journey.
Research goes AI-first: Answer engines overtake search engines for B2B buying
Here’s what we learned in our August survey of more than 1,000 B2B software buyers: Nearly 9 out of 10 (87%) said that AI chatbots (such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, etc.) are changing the way they research. They are moving from search engines to answer engines, and quickly.
Half of the buyers said they now start the buying journey in an AI chatbot instead of Google Search. That’s a 71% jump since our last survey, conducted just 4 months prior. Their favorite LLM of choice? ChatGPT, according to 47% of buyers. That’s nearly 3x any other LLM.
This trend is even stronger in enterprise organizations, where many have faced reductions in workforce and hiring restrictions. With fewer people to share the load, buyers’ overall workload has expanded, pressuring them to use the fastest solution for every task.
Compressed research leads to even shorter shortlists
If you’ve suffered through a multi-page, multi-hour Google blue-link search experience, you know how much time can be wasted. That’s why more than a third of respondents said they’re more productive with AI chat than with Google.
This should be concerning if search engine marketing (SEM) is one of your biggest investments to drive product discoverability. For most companies, it’s the number one line item in their digital marketing budget.
And it’s not just the top of the funnel where the buyer journey is changing. Our survey revealed that AI chat is now the top source that harried, time-pressed buyers use to build a software shortlist.
They’re prompting things like, “Give me three CRM solutions for a hospital that work on iPads,” and instantly creating a shortlist — now called a canvas. This completely disrupts the buying journey as we know it.
Welcome to the new world of one-shotting your shortlist.
As answer engines gain visibility and trust, companies must build their brands for the new AI search era
When it came to building shortlists, we also found that review websites — followed by vendor websites — ranked as the next top sources behind AI chat. This suggests a buying pattern that’s classic third-, second-, and first-party driven.
AI chat creates the canvas, review websites provide decision-making signals, and vendor websites supply the path to pricing and contact. Bada bing, bada boom. Nail all three in your go-to-market (GTM) strategy and you’ll be set to win new business.
But software buying comes with risks: wasted money, security issues, and lost time. These risks require trust. When we asked respondents, “Which sources do you rely on to research software solutions?” AI chat came out on top, ahead of vendor websites and salespeople.
Answer engines are gaining influence at every stage of the buying journey. Earning visibility in their returns should be a top priority in 2025.
We’ve been focused on this at G2 for the past year, and our efforts started exactly as yours should too: monitoring how you’re doing. Recently, we launched the Answer Engine Optimization category (AEO) on G2, where you can find solutions to immediately dial in to your performance in the new world of software buying.
Learn more about how to build your band for the AI search era at G2 Reach on November 5.
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