Do B2B buyers really use AI to research software?

Increasingly, yes. ChatGPT reports over 800 million weekly users (OpenAI, October 2025) and 44% of US adults have now used it (Pew, 2026), while Google’s AI Overviews reach 2.5 billion users a month by sitting on top of ordinary searches. When buyers ask which tool to use in a category, the AI answers with a short list of named vendors.

Does AI search actually reduce clicks to your website?

Measurably. Pew Research analyzed 68,879 real Google searches and found people click a result only 8% of the time when an AI summary appears, versus 15% without one — and they click a link inside the summary just 1% of the time. The AI answers the question, so the click never happens.

Why can’t I see AI’s influence in my analytics?

Because AI rarely leaves a trace. Cloudflare found OpenAI’s crawler reads on the order of 1,000 pages for every visitor it sends back, and most AI visits arrive with no referrer — so they log as “direct.” The research and shortlisting happen inside a chat you never see.

Is ChatGPT or Google’s AI bigger?

Both matter, and they’re different surfaces. ChatGPT still drives about 77% of AI-chatbot referral traffic (StatCounter, April 2026) though its share is slipping, while Google’s AI Overviews reach 2.5 billion users a month by sitting inside ordinary searches. That’s why we measure both, separately.

AI search statistics for B2B software (2026)

updated July 6, 2026 · every figure links its primary source

Buyers have started asking AI assistants — not just Google — which software to use, and the AI answers with a short list of specific vendors. The numbers below track that shift. We only list figures we could trace to the organization that published them; each one links out, and each is tagged by whether its publisher has something to sell you.

B2B software buyers are moving their research into AI

Survey evidence specific to B2B buying — note that each survey asks a differently-scoped question, so the numbers are not comparable to each other. All three publishers sell into this market; they are attributed as such.

51%

of B2B software buyers now start their software research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google — up from 29% in April 2025.

G2 survey of 1,076 B2B decision-makers who influence software purchases (IC to C-suite; NA, EMEA, APAC), fielded March 2026. The same report: 69% say chatbot-surfaced information led them to a different vendor than expected. G2 is a software-review marketplace — vendor research.

industry source G2, 2026 AI Search Insight Report, April 2026

89%

of B2B buyers report using generative AI in at least one area of their purchasing process.

“At least one area” is a deliberately broad bar — any phase, not shortlisting specifically. From Forrester’s Buyers’ Journey Survey 2024, verified on Forrester’s public analyst blog.

industry source Forrester, Buyers’ Journey Survey 2024, November 2024

63%

of technology buyers used AI at some point in their most recent buying process.

TrustRadius survey of 1,862 verified technology buyers, fielded January 2026. Same report: 94% of AI-using buyers fact-check its answers at least some of the time — adoption is high, blind trust is not. TrustRadius is a review platform — vendor research.

industry source TrustRadius, 2026 B2B Buying Disconnect Report, July 2026

Buyers are already researching through AI

Using an assistant to research and shortlist has gone mainstream in about a year. These are usage numbers, not our opinion — each links its source.

800M

people use ChatGPT every week (October 2025), up from 500 million in March.

Stated by OpenAI at DevDay. Counts all uses across every purpose.

industry source OpenAI DevDay 2025 · via TechCrunch, October 2025

2.5B

monthly users of Google’s AI Overviews; AI Mode has passed 1 billion — the AI answer now sits on top of most Google searches.

Monthly and often shown automatically, so not directly comparable to ChatGPT’s weekly, deliberately-typed 800M.

industry source Alphabet investor presentation, June 2026

44%

of US adults have now used ChatGPT (early 2026), up from 34% a year earlier.

A disinterested, random-sample baseline for how fast this is spreading — general use across all purposes.

disinterested source Pew Research Center, June 2026

The AI answer is replacing the list of links

When an AI summary appears, people stop clicking through. This is the clearest, most neutral evidence of the shift — Pew read the actual browsing data of 900 US adults.

8% vs 15%

Google users click a result 8% of the time when an AI summary appears — nearly half the 15% they click when there’s no summary.

Pew analyzed 68,879 real searches in March 2025. The most transparent measurement in this space.

disinterested source Pew Research Center, July 2025

of the time do users click a link inside the AI summary itself.

The AI reads the sources and answers; the click to your site rarely happens.

disinterested source Pew Research Center, July 2025

26%

of users end their browsing session entirely after a page with an AI summary (vs 16% without) — the answer was enough.

disinterested source Pew Research Center, July 2025

The influence is real — and invisible in your analytics

AI shapes who gets shortlisted, but rarely leaves a trace you can track. That’s why most teams don’t know it’s happening.

~77%

of all AI-chatbot referral traffic still comes from ChatGPT (April 2026) — but it’s a record low as Gemini and Perplexity gain ground.

A neutral measurement across 3B+ monthly pageviews. Use this, not the widely-mis-cited “63%.”

disinterested source StatCounter, April 2026

1,091 : 1

pages OpenAI’s crawler reads for every one visitor it sends back (Anthropic ~38,000 : 1; Google ~5 : 1). AI consumes the web but rarely refers anyone.

Independent infrastructure data — the structural reason AI’s impact doesn’t show up in your logs.

disinterested source Cloudflare Radar, August 2025

Common questions about AI search for B2B software

Do B2B buyers really use AI to research software?: Increasingly, yes. ChatGPT reports over 800 million weekly users (OpenAI, October 2025) and 44% of US adults have now used it (Pew, 2026), while Google’s AI Overviews reach 2.5 billion users a month by sitting on top of ordinary searches. When buyers ask which tool to use in a category, the AI answers with a short list of named vendors.
Does AI search actually reduce clicks to your website?: Measurably. Pew Research analyzed 68,879 real Google searches and found people click a result only 8% of the time when an AI summary appears, versus 15% without one — and they click a link inside the summary just 1% of the time. The AI answers the question, so the click never happens.
Why can’t I see AI’s influence in my analytics?: Because AI rarely leaves a trace. Cloudflare found OpenAI’s crawler reads on the order of 1,000 pages for every visitor it sends back, and most AI visits arrive with no referrer — so they log as “direct.” The research and shortlisting happen inside a chat you never see.
Is ChatGPT or Google’s AI bigger?: Both matter, and they’re different surfaces. ChatGPT still drives about 77% of AI-chatbot referral traffic (StatCounter, April 2026) though its share is slipping, while Google’s AI Overviews reach 2.5 billion users a month by sitting inside ordinary searches. That’s why we measure both, separately.

Sources

G2, 2026 AI Search Insight Report — April 2026
Forrester, Buyers’ Journey Survey 2024 — November 2024
TrustRadius, 2026 B2B Buying Disconnect Report — July 2026
OpenAI DevDay 2025 · via TechCrunch — October 2025
Alphabet investor presentation — June 2026
Pew Research Center — June 2026
Pew Research Center — July 2025
StatCounter — April 2026
Cloudflare Radar — August 2025

Figures are quoted as published by each source and dated. Where a source revised a number, we cite the most recent. Found one that’s moved? Tell us and we’ll correct it.

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