AI-Powered Growth:

The B2B buyer journey has never been static. It has evolved with each wave of innovation—from the analog, sales-driven era to the explosion of digital discovery and lead generation enabled by the internet. We’re now entering a new phase with AI-driven decision-making.

With each shift, buyers take on new behaviors, and marketers and sellers must scramble to meet them where they are.

Digital Disruption — The Dawn of Buyer Power

Before the internet, sales ran the show. They controlled information flow and guided B2B buyers through a linear, relationship-driven process.

But the rise of the internet flipped that model. Buyers took control—researching on their own, comparing options, and narrowing choices. This led to buyers completing up to 70% of their journey before ever talking to sales, according to a 2023 6sense Buyer Experience Report. To stay relevant in this new, buyer-led world, companies responded by shifting to data-driven targeting, on-demand content, automated lead qualification, personalized web experiences, and more.

AI Disruption — A Radical Shift in B2B Decision-making

With AI, we are on the brink of an even more profound change—not just in how information is accessed, but in how B2B buying decisions are made.

The current rise of AI-assisted tools and the emergence of agentic AI systems will fundamentally reshape the buyer journey—from discovery to decision-making.

With AI disruption, we predict B2B buyers will complete up to 95% of their journey before ever talking to sales.

In today’s AI-assisted era, smart tools are in the loop—augmenting every step:

• The evaluation process has become more insight-driven and efficient, as buyers use tools like deep research, AI-powered chat, and generative review aggregators to surface the most relevant insights and solutions.

• Journey flows are becoming data-enhanced and streamlined, as AI anticipates buyer needs and delivers timely, contextual information that supports faster progression through the funnel.
• The role of brand expands to address two audiences: humans who respond to brand on an emotional level; and AI assistants that rank brands based on evidence.
• The role of sales is evolving with AI-guided insight tools that simplify workflows and surface relevant buyer signals to optimize the timing of sales engagement.

• Content is increasingly hyper-personalized to the unique context and needs of each buyer, delivered dynamically and at scale.

• Trust sources are evolving as buyers increasingly rely on AI-synthesized evaluations that aggregate third-party reviews, analyst insights, and performance benchmarks.
• The purchase decision is becoming AI-facilitated, with tools that simulate ROI, generate business case presentations, flag issues on contracts, and even predict stakeholder input.

Now imagine what’s next. 

In the agentic-AI era, autonomous agents act on behalf of buyers and sellers.

• The evaluation process will be delegated almost entirely, with agents handling research, shortlisting vendors, building the case for investment, and even managing negotiations.

• Journey flow is likely to evolve to machine-to-machine orchestration, where AI agents handle most interactions with limited human oversight.

• The role of brand importance resurfaces. A strong brand becomes a critical override switch in a machine-first world. If an agent misses a trusted brand, a human can add it back to the mix.
• The role of sales will shift toward closing complex deals—where trust, relationships, emotional intelligence, and nuance matter most. AI agents handle routine engagement.
• Content will shift to being more modular, structured, and proof-rich—designed for parsing and reasoning by AI agents.

• Trust sources will likely shift toward machine-verified data that autonomous agents can access and evaluate. These may include third-party validated performance data—such as ROI metrics and digitally signed reviews—that provide credible, tamper-resistant input into decision-making.

• The purchase decision could become completely agent-driven, where AI agents select a preferred vendor, manage negotiations, and even finalize decisions within established parameters.

Each technology shift has reduced human control over the buyer’s journey but increased the importance of strategy, trust-building, and system design.

Snapshot: Evolution of the Buyer Journey

Rewiring for the AI-Driven Buyer Journey

AI won’t be just an incremental step in the evolution of B2B buying—it will drive a seismic shift in how decisions are made and who makes them. As buyer journeys become agent-driven, the companies that adapt and rewire fastest will come out ahead.

Buyers are changing course. Are you adjusting yours? Let’s talk.

Stay tuned—we’ll dive deeper into the implications of the coming era of B2A—across brand, demand, sales, and beyond.