The B2B buying journey has changed. Most brands have not

For years, we have said that buyers want to do their own research.

What has changed is how they do it.

Research from Gartner and eMarketer shows that more than 70% of the B2B buying journey is completed before a buyer speaks to sales. In 2026, more of that research is happening through AI tools.

Buyers are no longer just browsing. They are forming opinions, comparing vendors, and often making decisions before any human interaction happens.

That changes how businesses need to show up.

The invisible buying journey

Your sales pipeline is not necessarily shrinking. It is becoming harder to see.

By the time a prospect appears in your CRM system, they may have already:

• Asked ChatGPT or Gemini to summarise your product strengths and weaknesses
• Used Perplexity AI to compare you with competitors
• Explored technical fit with Claude

They are not simply informed. They arrive with a clear point of view.

If the first interaction they have with your business is a generic company overview, it often adds little value to what they already know.

If most of the buying journey happens before a form fill, traditional demand generation starts too late.

This is where focusing on the right accounts becomes practical.

Instead of waiting for leads, you focus on the companies that are already in market and shape what they see while they are still researching.

That matters even more because the traditional funnel is breaking down. AI discovery now filters vendors before many buyers ever run a traditional search. By the time they reach out, they often already have a preferred supplier in mind. In many cases, the deal goes to the vendor they contact first.

That means:

• Getting your message clear before the first interaction
• Reaching the wider buying group, not just one contact
• Showing up consistently while AI tools are being used to compare options

This is not just about targeting.

It is about shaping the story before it is settled.

Because by the time a buyer speaks to sales, the shortlist often already exists.

From SEO to GEO

We spent years optimising for search engines. Now the focus is shifting towards how AI systems interpret and recommend information.

This is often described as Generative Engine Optimization.

AI does not simply rank pages. It selects and combines information to produce an answer.

That creates new dynamics:

• If pricing is not visible, it may not be included
• If product information is unclear, it may be misrepresented
• If there is little external discussion about your brand, it may not appear at all

Early data suggests that AI assisted traffic often converts at a higher rate, likely because the buyer has already formed a strong preference.

The focus shifts from driving traffic to being part of the answer.

That also raises the bar for consistency. What a buyer finds on review sites, Reddit, or in AI generated summaries needs to match what they see on your website. If it does not, trust starts to erode before a conversation even begins.

How to adapt

Sales still matters, but its role is changing.

1. Make it easier for buyers to understand you

AI systems rely on accessible information.

When key details are hidden behind forms, they are less likely to be surfaced or recommended. Buyers tend to move towards vendors they can evaluate more easily.

Instead of adding another pitch, give buyers what they need to make sense of the offer. That includes transparent pricing, clear case studies, and simple ROI tools that help them explain the decision internally.

2. Use sales where sales adds real value

The role of sales is moving away from explaining products.

AI can already do that effectively.

Where sales adds value is in areas such as:

• Aligning stakeholders
• Understanding internal priorities
• Reducing perceived risk

This is where human interaction remains critical.

Buyers are not avoiding people altogether. They are avoiding irrelevant outreach. The best sales teams enter later, with more context, and help the buying group move forward rather than repeat information the buyer already knows.

3. Be visible beyond your website

AI systems learn from a wide range of sources, not just your own content.

This includes:

• Reviews
• Industry discussions
• Community platforms

For the accounts you care about most, these signals shape how your brand is understood long before any direct interaction.

If your brand is not part of those conversations, it is less likely to appear in AI generated responses and less likely to be considered in the first place.

A shift from persuasion to validation

One of the biggest changes is subtle.

Buyers are not arriving to be persuaded. They are arriving to confirm their thinking.

This changes the role of marketing and sales:

• Less focus on introducing the product
• More focus on reinforcing confidence and clarity

The bottom line

The modern B2B buyer often reaches out after completing most of their research independently.

The question is no longer whether buyers are informed.

It is whether your approach is built for a buyer who already understands your product before the first conversation.

The companies that win in this environment will be the ones that help buyers make sense of the decision before sales ever enters the room.

That is the real shift. Buyers still want help. They just want it later, and they want it to be useful.