LLMs Have Entered the Chat. They Haven't Taken Over It: Buyers still rely on far more than AI

saraboostani

Hi all,

A couple weeks ago I put up a post with a sassy little headline: "How B2B Buyers Use LLMs to Discover Your Business: They Don't." We have a ton to talk about regarding LLM use in our upcoming Buyer Experience data, but along the same vein as that sassy title, I wanted to share a small sneak peek.

This year, we asked buyers whether they stay up to date on solutions in categories relevant to their careers. Nearly every single buyer (96%) answered yes. If we think about our own careers and buying behavior, that probably doesn't come as much of a surprise.

We also asked how they stay current on solutions during periods when they are not in an active buying cycle. Yes, LLMs were on the list, alongside many other sources. The major implication of the results is this: there has been an overwhelming amount of chatter about the need to show up in LLMs. And while that's certainly true, LLMs are simply one of many ways buyers stay informed. In fact, they were nowhere near the top of the list. Quite the opposite.

The reality is that buyer behavior does not change as quickly as we often assume. Buyers still do all the things they've always done. They learn from peers, attend industry events, visit vendor websites, read industry content, etc.

While LLMs have entered the chat, they haven't taken over the chat!

@Kerry

Kerry

As Sara says, this is something we'll be harping on a lot in our upcoming reporting on the Buyer Experience Study results. Our imaginations so often run to the logical ends of what could happen, but the real world lags way behind, and often never catches up to what we imagine.