A year ago, we announced the arrival of AI-enabled buying with the startling data point that 89% of business buyers report using AI in their buying process. There wouldn’t seem to be anywhere to go from there, but buyers have since turned their use of AI up to eleven. While the proportion of buyers using AI only grew five percentage points, to 94%, twice as many buyers in Forrester’s Buyers’ Journey Survey, 2025, named generative AI or conversational search as a more meaningful or important source of information than any other source, far outpacing vendor websites, product experts, and sales. They use these AI tools for a growing number of use cases across every stage of the buying journey.

While the proportion of buyers using AI only grew five percentage points, to 94%, twice as many buyers named generative AI or conversational search as a more meaningful or important source of information than any other source.

Company-Supplied Tools Fuel Adoption

It is no wonder that business buyers are using AI; their companies are providing them with AI tools and encouraging them to use them. The majority of business buyers, 61%, report using private AI tools provided by their organization. They are twice as likely to use ChatGPT and four times as likely to use Microsoft Copilot as consumers, with more than half of the users of each tool using private versions behind their firewall. The supply is there, but so is the demand, with business buyers reporting that AI tools help them be more productive, consider more vendors in less time, and make better decisions for the business.

Marketers Need To Shift From Driving Traffic To Driving Visibility

The marketing model that has worked in the past — driving traffic to your site to retarget and nurture prospects — will be much less effective. Buyers will spend more and more of their buying process with AI answer engines and less time engaging directly with vendors. Providers will need to evolve from driving traffic through search engine optimization to driving visibility through answer engine optimization and start optimizing for tools beyond Google. They will then need to refocus their content strategy to drive authority and authenticity, forming partnerships across the organization. And as buyers become better educated, providers will need more clever positioning and innovative messaging that stands out in more thorough shopping through the intermediary of the answer engine. These changes can feel overwhelming, but the net impact will be positive for companies that can communicate how they create unique value.

Forrester clients can access the full report, 2026 Buyer Insights: Buyer Usage Of GenAI, and schedule a call with me to learn more about business buyer adoption of AI and discuss strategies for redirecting your content, messaging, and marketing.