How B2B software buyers choose a supplier in 2026

B2B software buyers now build their shortlist with an AI chatbot before they speak to a supplier, then ask a person to check it. According to G2, April 2026, 51% of software buyers start their research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google. The supplier that wins is almost always on that first shortlist.

How do B2B software buyers research suppliers in 2026?

G2 surveyed 1,076 B2B software buyers and decision makers in March 2026 for its Answer Economy report, published in April 2026. 51% now start with an AI chatbot more often than with Google. A year earlier, in G2's 2025 report, that figure was 29%.

Google has not gone away. According to G2, April 2026, 71% of buyers rely on AI chatbots at some point, and 61% use AI search alongside Google. 41% use Deep Research tools for structured software evaluations.

Gartner's research points the same way. It surveyed 645 B2B buyers in August and September 2025 and published the results in May 2026. Buyers used an average of 7 information sources during a recent purchase.

45% of those buyers used generative AI, mainly to gather information on vendors and products, according to Gartner, May 2026. That makes AI a source among several, and often the first.

6sense found a similar pattern in its 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, published November 2025. 94% of buyers use large language models. That has not changed how much they rely on vendor content or outside experts.

That last point matters. An AI assistant builds its answer from what it can read about you: your website, your reviews and what others write about you. Thin or outdated content gives it less to recommend.

The key figures on how software buyers choose

• 51% of B2B software buyers start research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google, according to G2, April 2026.
• 69% of buyers switched from their original choice of vendor because a chatbot recommended another, according to G2, April 2026.
• 1 in 3 buyers bought from a vendor they had never heard of before, according to G2, April 2026.
• Buyers choose from 1 of the 4 vendors on their day 1 shortlist 95% of the time, according to 6sense, November 2025.
• Buyers make first contact with a vendor 61% of the way through the buying process, down from 69%, according to 6sense, November 2025.
• A typical buying decision now includes 13 internal stakeholders and 9 external influencers, according to Forrester, January 2026.
• 67% of B2B buyers prefer a rep free experience, according to Gartner, March 2026.
• 69% of B2B buyers prefer to check insights generated by AI with a sales rep, according to Gartner, May 2026.
• Only 32% of 6,346 B2B demo and contact forms got an email reply, according to Clay, September 2026.

Does AI decide which supplier makes the shortlist?

More and more, yes. G2 found AI chatbots are now the top source influencing buyer shortlists, ahead of review sites, analyst firms and vendor websites. 85% of buyers think more highly of a vendor when AI includes it in an answer.

The AI answer also changes minds. According to G2, April 2026, 69% of buyers switched from their original choice of vendor, because a chatbot recommended another. 1 in 3 bought from a vendor they had never heard of.

Once the shortlist exists, it sticks. According to 6sense, November 2025, buyers choose from 1 of the 4 vendors on their day 1 shortlist 95% of the time. That is up from 85% the year before.

So the real contest happens before a buyer fills in a form. If the AI does not mention a supplier, that supplier is unlikely to be compared at all.

A caution on the G2 data. G2 runs a software review site, so its respondents lean towards people who use review sites. The direction still matches what Gartner and 6sense report.

To be the answer an AI assistant gives:

• Answer the questions buyers ask on your own pages, in plain language, with the answer in the first paragraph.
• Publish fair comparison pages against the tools you lose deals to.
• Keep pricing guidance, integrations, security and onboarding details on public pages an AI can read.
• Ask happy customers for reviews on the sites your buyers use, and reply to every review.
• Check what ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Copilot say about your category each month, then fix the gaps.

Who is in a B2B software buying group now?

More people than a single buyer persona suggests. According to Forrester's State of Business Buying, January 2026, a typical buying decision includes 13 internal stakeholders and 9 external influencers. The number rises for complex or strategic purchases.

Procurement now has a real say. Forrester found procurement professionals are decision makers in 53% of business buying cycles. More than 60% of business buyers now use a trial before they commit.

Each of those people asks a different question. Finance wants cost and payback, and IT wants security and integrations. Procurement wants terms, and the end user wants proof it works.

A marketing system has to treat that group as a single deal with many contacts. Each person should get content that answers their question. The sales rep should see who has engaged and what they read.

Do B2B buyers still want to talk to a sales rep?

They want to talk later, and for a different reason. Gartner surveyed 646 B2B buyers in August and September 2025 and published the results in March 2026. 67% said they prefer a rep free experience.

Yet the human step has not gone. In Gartner's May 2026 release, 69% of B2B buyers prefer to check insights generated by AI with a sales rep.

Trust is split. According to Gartner, May 2026, 51% of buyers say they are more likely to meet misleading information from generative AI. 49% say the same about a sales rep.

Contact also comes late, and the buyer starts it. According to 6sense, November 2025, first contact happens 61% of the way through the buying process. Buyers initiated 79% of engagements.

That makes the reply to a demo request a high stakes moment. In Clay's September 2026 experiment, a team of agents submitted 6,346 B2B demo and contact forms. Only 32% got an email reply.

Speed was rare too. According to Clay, only 5% of replies arrived within 5 minutes. A buyer with a shortlist of 4 has 3 other suppliers to try while they wait.

What should a software company's marketing system do?

Buyers now do more alone, decide earlier and arrive with a shortlist. The marketing system has to carry them to the point of contact. Then it has to make that contact fast and informed.

That only works when the website, the chat, the calendar, the email platform and the CRM share a single record of each buyer. Without it, the rep walks into the call blind.

What to automate:

• An instant, personal reply to every demo request, with a booking link, sent within 5 minutes.
• Reminders before every booked demo, by email and SMS.
• Follow up that responds to what each person read, rather than a fixed sequence.
• Content sent to each member of the buying group, matched to their role.
• A chat assistant on the website that answers product, pricing and security questions at any hour.
• A short brief for the rep before each call, showing pages read, chats and emails opened.

What to measure:

• How often AI assistants mention you, and how many visits and enquiries come from AI search.
• Time from demo request to first reply, and to first conversation.
• How many contacts from each account engage before a sales call.
• Win rate by source, so you can see which channels bring in paying customers.
• Review volume and rating on the sites your buyers read.

We build this for software companies as a single bespoke system, designed around how each company wins customers. The CRM, website forms and chat, booking flow, email and SMS sequences and AI agents all share a single record of every buyer.