Written by: Vickie Sullivan  |  September 24, 2026

How Buyers use AI to Choose Us

We all know about the latest 500 lb gorilla in new business development, AI’s role in buying decisions. But Gale agency’s The Preference Economy  report on how buyers use AI to search for vendors should scare anyone looking for new business.

Move past the focus on B2C’s loyalty program; this will come to the B2B market faster than you think. Sit down and check out these stats:

• 56% say they are comfortable delegating *all* (emphasis mine) of their communications with vendors through AI
• 31% have instructed an AI assistant (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, etc) to prioritize certain brands over others.
• About 25% will regularly set brand preferences with AI within the next year. Within the next few years, this stat will be 70%.

Pay attention to those last two findings. If buyers don’t know or prefer you before their search, their AI summaries will not include you. It’s too late for all those explainer videos, webinars, or any content marketing to influence.

You are not considered and rejected; you are not included from the beginning. The shift is bigger than getting on the radar. You must be known and preferred.

This disruption will change the priority from managing the sales journey to getting on the prompts list. And the best way to do that is something we all should be doing right now: community building and experiences that build brand awareness.

For those who believe sales can happen without brand awareness and influence, think again. Prominence is now table stakes to get included on the list for AI to search. Invest in this effort accordingly.

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Now read this:

Buyers’ Use of AI Forces Firms to Change their Marketing Game

Front runner status bring the opportunities to you

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