G2 Report: AI Now Means 'Always Included,' Disrupting All Stages of the B2B Software Buying Journey

79% of global B2B buyers say AI search has changed how they conduct research

G2 today released its 2025 Buyer Behavior Report, based on a global annual survey of B2B software buyers and validated with proprietary G2 Data to enhance key findings and insights. Titled "AI Now Means Always Included," the report explores how AI is disrupting the software buying journey and how go-to-market teams can adapt to stay ahead.

This year's report finds that AI has moved from experimental to an essential contributor to the research and evaluation stages of the buying process, and is embedded into how businesses strategically improve their operations. While software and technology spending continues to accelerate, the 2025 Buyer Behavior Report reveals a fundamental shift in buying patterns, with smaller deal sizes, more focused buying committees, and AI reshaping every stage of the buyer journey — starting with AI search upending traditional search during the research stage.

“AI is no longer hype — it's now infused into our workflows and deeply influences our business strategies," said Tim Sanders, VP of Research Insights, at G2. "For software sellers, this new reality requires new go-to-market tactics. What worked last year won’t work now, as AI has disrupted every part of the buying process."

Some of the top trends observed in G2's 2025 Buyer Behavior Report include:

AI funding shifts from experimental to operational

Companies are moving AI investments from temporary exploratory budgets into core operational spending. This transition represents a maturation of AI adoption, making it essential infrastructure rather than optional innovation.

• 57% of buyers anticipate their organization will spend more on technology and software over the next year—an 8 percentage point (ppt) increase year over year—driven largely by AI's expanding role in business transformation.
• More than half (55%) of AI solution purchases are funded by central IT budgets, marking a shift from the scrutinized budgets of R&D, discretionary spending, or dedicated AI initiatives launched over the past two years.

Buyer personas and committees are evolving

Ultimate decision-making authority is moving beyond traditional C-suite members to include technical experts and end users. The trend toward smaller, more agile buying committees demonstrates the desire to accelerate technology adoption while maintaining appropriate oversight.

• The once-dominant 5–8 member buying committees are shrinking, with smaller groups of 3-4 people becoming more popular.
• With IT involvement mentioned in almost half of all purchasing decisions, the emerging theme of 2025 is “AI Orchestration.”
• Nearly three out of four companies now impose stricter requirements when evaluating AI-powered software compared to non-AI solutions.

Generative AI is creating a more direct buyer journey

Buyers are leveraging large language models (LLMs) to dramatically compress their research and evaluation processes. This shortened journey reflects growing buyer confidence, trust, and sophistication in using AI chatbots and agents to make purchasing decisions more efficiently.

• Nearly 8 in 10 respondents say AI search has changed how they conduct research, with 29% noting they start research via LLMs more often than Google. This is in sharp contrast to SEO provider-led research, which mostly measures referral traffic and claims that AI search’s adoption is negligible.
• Nearly two of three buyers prefer engaging with vendor salespeople only in later stages of their journey, up sharply (+17 ppt) from 2024.
• Generative AI chatbots (17%) and software review sites (15%) are the top two sources influencing vendor shortlists, beating out vendor sites, market research firms, and independent content, among other sources.

Deal sizes and pricing models are shifting

While enthusiasm for software spend remains strong, driven by the momentum of AI, macroeconomic headwinds and increased scrutiny on return-on-investment (ROI) are reshaping deal sizes. At the same time, the market is moving away from large upfront commitments toward flexible consumption models that align with actual value delivery. This fundamental shift places greater emphasis on proving ongoing ROI rather than selling expansive initial contracts.

• Enterprises now cluster purchases primarily in the $100K–$150K range, pulling back from the expansive budgets common during the zero-interest-rate era.
• With 39% of respondents preferring pay-as-you-go pricing models, this shift toward usage-based pricing contributes to smaller initial deals that scale up where product-customer fit is strong.

For additional survey findings and recommendations to vendors on how to adapt, download the complete 2025 G2 Buyer Behavior Report and read the blog post on G2's newsroom.

Methodology

G2’s 2025 Buyer Behavior Report is based on findings from an online survey of 1,169 B2B decision-makers fielded by G2 in April 2025. The global pool of respondents across North America, EMEA, and APAC includes those who are responsible for or influence purchase decisions for departments, multiple departments, operating units, or entire businesses.

Generative AI was extensively used to define the study’s focus areas, optimize survey design, and analyze results. Data visualizations were generated using reasoning models to uncover insights and provide creative prototypes, accelerating the production process. G2 Data was employed to validate various findings and generate insights for this report.

About G2

G2 is the world's largest and most trusted software marketplace. More than 100 million people annually — including employees at all Fortune 500 companies — use G2 to make smarter software decisions based on authentic peer reviews. Thousands of software and services companies of all sizes partner with G2 to build their reputation and grow their business — including Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoom, and Adobe.

To learn more about where you go for software, visit www.g2.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250514382531/en/

“AI is no longer hype — it's now infused into our workflows and deeply influences our business strategies," said Tim Sanders, VP of Research Insights, at G2.