B2B software buyers now use AI chatbots less to learn what a category is and more to compare and validate vendors. In G2’s research among software buyers, comparing vendor strengths and weaknesses is the number one reason to use a chatbot, ahead of basic product research, vendor identification and use case validation. They use chatbots to compare vendors, check fit for a use case, narrow a shortlist and prepare RFP questions. For your content strategy, that points to pages that are clear, comparable and easy to verify. Think comparisons, use-case pages, open pricing details and third-party proof. G2 sees AI collapsing the top-of-funnel discovery stage while extending deeper into middle and bottom-of-funnel actions.<\/p>\n
Below you’ll see where AI chatbots enter B2B buyer research, which content formats support each stage, and why this differs from consumer product discovery.<\/p>\n
The change is fast. In an August survey of more than 1,000 B2B software buyers, G2 found that 87% say AI chatbots are changing the way they research<\/a>. Half said they now start the buying journey in an AI chatbot instead of Google Search. That was a 71% jump compared with a G2 survey conducted just four months earlier.<\/p>\n ChatGPT was the favorite, chosen by 47% of buyers. That is nearly three times any other LLM. G2 reports the trend is even stronger in enterprise organizations.<\/p>\n One caveat. These numbers come from software buyers. If you sell B2B services, the direction is likely similar, but the exact percentages were not measured for your market.<\/p>\n The most useful insight is why<\/em> buyers open a chatbot. According to G2’s 2026 AI Search Insight Report<\/a>, comparing vendor strengths and weaknesses is the number one reason for using AI chatbots in software research. It ranks ahead of basic product research, vendor identification and use case validation.<\/p>\n G2 puts it bluntly: buyers aren’t asking chatbots to orient them in a new category. They already know what they’re looking for.<\/p>\n The G2 report lists the research tasks buyers bring to AI chatbots. Grouped into the three stages of vendor selection, they look like this:<\/p>\n G2 describes it this way: AI is collapsing the top-of-funnel discovery stage while extending deeper into middle and bottom-of-funnel actions. The chatbot is no longer just a search box. It’s a research assistant that sits in on the shortlist meeting.<\/p>\n Buyers who research software with AI hold vendors to a higher standard. G2 says they expect clear documentation, crisp positioning, credible reviews and third-party validation. Treat these as recommended content types: G2 describes what buyers expect, not which pages a chatbot actually selects as a source. If your site offers none of them, buyers have little to verify your fit with.<\/p>\n\t\tComparison comes first, not orientation<\/h3>\n
The stages where chatbots show up<\/h3>\n
\n\n
\n \nPodium<\/th>\n What buyers ask the chatbot to do<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Shortlisting<\/td>\n Identify vendors worth considering, narrow options to a shortlist<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Vergelijking<\/td>\n Compare vendor strengths and weaknesses, understand pricing and packaging options<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Validation<\/td>\n Validate specific use cases, validate an initial recommendation, draft RFP questions based on business need<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n What content supports B2B vendor research with AI chatbots?<\/h2>\n