AI search statistics 2026: what primary studies say about buyers and marketers
Primary studies from 2025 and 2026 point the same way. Most business buyers say they use AI during their buying process. About half of B2B software buyers start research with an AI chatbot more often than Google, and AI chatbots shape which vendors make the shortlist. Most marketers treat AI search as part of SEO, and about half find its impact on pipeline or revenue hard to measure. Google says its AI features rely on its core Search ranking and quality systems. In our own buyer-style tests, the target company was missing from most AI answers.
Below are 16 findings from six sources, grouped by who was asked. Each one shows its source, sample and date.
How we chose these figures
- Primary sources only. Each figure comes from the organisation that ran the survey, published the documentation or ran the tests. We leave out figures we could only find in roundups, vendor recaps or AI-generated summaries.
- Sample and date with every figure, so you can judge who was asked and when.
- Checked against the source. Every figure was checked against its source on 2 October 2026 and shows the date it was last checked.
- Cite the original. If you quote a figure, cite the source linked under it, not this page. For our own tests, cite the study on bearleap.space.
How business buyers use AI when buying
Two buyer surveys: Forrester asked business buyers in general; 6sense asked B2B buyers on purchases from $25k.
94% of business buyers report using AI during their buying process. Source: Forrester, State of Business Buying 2026 · Sample: about 18,000 business buyers, global · Date: 2026 report · Last checked: 2 October 2026
Buyers first contact a vendor about 61% of the way through their journey. Source: 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report · Sample: about 4,000 B2B buyers, purchases from $25k · Date: 2025 report · Last checked: 2 October 2026
Buyers use LLMs most in the middle of the journey, to compare vendors, not to discover them. Source: 6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report · Sample: about 4,000 B2B buyers, purchases from $25k · Date: 2025 report · Last checked: 2 October 2026
LLMs are large language models, the AI systems behind chatbots. The two 6sense findings come from the same survey; the Forrester figure comes from a different and larger sample.
How B2B software buyers use AI chatbots
All four figures come from one G2 survey of B2B decision-makers, run in March 2026.
51% of B2B software buyers start research with an AI chatbot more often than Google. Source: G2, The Answer Economy · Sample: 1,076 B2B decision-makers, global · Date: March 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
Buyers name AI chatbots as the #1 source influencing their shortlist (54%). Source: G2, The Answer Economy · Sample: 1,076 B2B decision-makers, global · Date: March 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
69% of B2B software buyers say an AI chatbot led them to a different vendor than they initially planned. Source: G2, The Answer Economy · Sample: 1,076 B2B decision-makers, global · Date: March 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
64% of B2B software buyers encounter AI inaccuracies at least a few times a month. Source: G2, The Answer Economy · Sample: 1,076 B2B decision-makers, global · Date: March 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
How marketers see AI search
All three figures come from one Semrush survey of 481 marketers, run in June 2026.
77% of marketers place AI search inside SEO (55% an extension, 22% partly overlapping); 15% see it as separate. Source: Semrush study · Sample: 481 marketers · Date: June 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
37% of marketers say competitors are mentioned more often than their brand in AI answers; 30% say their brand is described inaccurately. Source: Semrush study · Sample: 481 marketers · Date: June 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
49% of marketers find it hard to measure AI's impact on pipeline or revenue; 40% still check AI answers by hand. Source: Semrush study · Sample: 481 marketers · Date: June 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
How optimising for AI answers relates to SEO in practice is covered in GEO vs SEO.
What Google says about its AI features
These are not survey results. They are Google's own statements in its Search Central documentation.
Google's generative AI features rely on its core Search ranking and quality systems; from Google's perspective, optimizing for them is still SEO. Source: Google Search Central · Sample: not applicable (platform documentation) · Date: documentation updated 10 July 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
Google Search ignores llms.txt: it neither helps nor harms visibility there. Source: Google Search Central · Sample: not applicable (platform documentation) · Date: documentation updated 10 July 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
Google says Merchant Center feeds and Business Profiles can help products and services appear in AI responses. Source: Google Search Central · Sample: not applicable (platform documentation) · Date: documentation updated 10 July 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
Our own research: are companies surfaced in AI answers?
We ran buyer-style prompts in AI engines and recorded whether the target company of each prompt was surfaced, and which sources the answers cited.
In buyer-style tests of 77 companies drawn from the public ESA BIC Noordwijk incubatee and alumni listings, the target company wasn't surfaced in 79.7% of 231 answers; 49 of 77 were never surfaced. Source: our own study on bearleap.space · Sample: 77 companies, 231 answers · Date: tests on 25 and 26 August 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
Only 1.2% of 1,798 logged citations pointed to the companies' own websites. Source: our own study on bearleap.space · Sample: 1,798 citations logged in the same tests · Date: tests on 25 and 26 August 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
8 of 29 companies failed a bare-name test; all 8 resolved once one clause of context was added. Source: our own study on bearleap.space · Sample: 29 companies in the bare-name test · Date: tests on 25 and 26 August 2026 · Last checked: 2 October 2026
A bare-name test asks an AI engine about a company by its name alone. The study is independent: ESA BIC Noordwijk did not commission or endorse it. Read the full study and methodology.
What these numbers don't show
What people say, not what they do. The Forrester, G2, 6sense and Semrush figures are self-reports from survey participants. They record what buyers and marketers say they do, not observed behaviour. Google's statements are documentation, and our own figures come from recorded AI answers, not a survey.
Different samples. The surveys asked different people: about 18,000 business buyers (Forrester), 1,076 B2B decision-makers (G2), about 4,000 B2B buyers on purchases from $25k (6sense) and 481 marketers (Semrush). Don't add, average or chain figures across studies. G2's finding on where software buyers start research and 6sense's finding on when buyers use LLMs describe different groups, so quote them separately.
Global, not European. None of the external figures on this page is a Europe-only figure, and Forrester and G2 describe their samples as global. Read them as a global signal, not as a measurement of a European market.
Our study has a narrow base. 77 companies from one incubator ecosystem, tested on two days in August 2026. AI answers change over time, so these figures describe those companies on those dates, not what another company would see.
How we keep this page current
Every figure shows the date we last checked it against its source. We check again on the schedule below, or earlier if the source publishes an update. If a figure no longer matches its source, we correct it or take it off the page. No figure stays here without a source.
| Source | Next check |
|---|---|
| Forrester, State of Business Buying | Next report, around Q1 2027 |
| G2, The Answer Economy | Next G2 report |
| 6sense, B2B Buyer Experience Report | 2026 report |
| Semrush study | Q2 2027 |
| Google Search Central | Each update of the documentation |
Table: re-check schedule for the sources on this page.
See where your company stands
These figures describe markets, not your company. To see how AI engines answer buyer-style prompts about your business, run the Free AI Visibility Check: 10 buyer prompts, results in 48 hours, free. If you want to know what improving your position involves, see how AI visibility work runs.