G2 data: 1/2 of global software buyers now start search on AI chatbots instead of Google
episodePreviously titled “G2 data: 1/2 of global software buyers now start search on AI chatbots instead of Google(71% jump since Apr); AI search is killing “Google first” era; Companies must rethink visibility in LLM-first era; Workplace adoption is consolidating around AI giants” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 3, 2026
Voices of Search // A Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Content Marketing Podcast
54 min
2 speakers
6 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Voices of Search Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast? I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth, and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit IHear Everything.com. Welcome to the Voices of Search Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Ready to expedite your company's organic growth efforts? Sit back, relax, and get ready for your daily dose of search engine optimization wisdom. Here's today's host of the Voices of Search Podcast, Jordan Cooney. 79% of global B2B buyers say AI search has changed how they conduct research, proving that AI isn't a fringe tool anymore.
It's front and center in how B2B buyers research software. That means 8 in 10 buyers are using AI to gather, compare, and shortlist vendors before they ever click a traditional search result. But most companies are still optimizing for the old playbook, climbing Google rankings and hoping prospects find them there. Here's a rub. Today's buyers are not starting with search. They're focused on AI chat and that's the key result in success. So here's a real question. How do you win awareness in a world where buyers discover software through AI and not blue links? I'm Jordan Cooney, and joining me today is Tim Sanders, Chief Innovation Officer at G2, home to one of the largest data sets on real B2B. Be buyer behavior.
G2 serves over 100 million software buyers annually and sees firsthand how enterprise research habits are shifting. Not gradually, but rapidly. Today, Tim will unpack what G2 data reveals about how buyers are using AI Search, why traditional SEO no longer guarantees discovery, and what companies need to do to win in this new era of GEO. Tim, welcome to the Voices of Search Podcast. Glad to be with you, Jordan. Awesome. Super stoked to have this conversation, partly because you have a long history in search, right? I mean, we're in a new a new era and this new AEO, GEO, AI search era is certainly consuming most of the headlines. But you've got a lot of history with this. Why don't you tell us a little bit about how you got into search and and some of your first experiences in in in the search world?
Yeah, so I you know I I came by I came by search kind of honestly. I was an early user, mid 1990s, Archie, Gopher, Northern Lights. For those of you uh my age that might ring a bell. And then the great disruptor, Alta Vista, if you remember. Um I worked with Mark Cuban, his startup in Dallasbroadcast.com. Um, we were purchased by Yahoo in 1999. I went to Yahoo with the acquisition and um by 2001 I became Yahoo's CSO. And at the time, what I was really overseeing, Jordan, was the absolute disruption of the buyer journey as it went through things like direct mail, yellow pages, radio, TV, and print. That's the first thing we saw just get absolutely disrupted by the birth of search. Mostly Altodista became an inflection point for that first wave.
And then we started to see digital advertising, which is my point of emphasis, digital advertising banners. promotions, that kind of thing. Um, also make a little bit of headway, not not a lot when I was there, but a little bit.
Why are 79% of B2B buyers saying AI search has changed their research habits?
But you could see the writing on the wall that the buyer journey was going to change and that effective ways of reaching them would change. Now I I was There uh when uh Larry and Serge, you know, came to us uh with their amazing invention out of, you know, Stanford, uh, which was page rank and a real way to think about solving the the keyword stuffing problem uh that it currently existed, uh making search uh a very low quality experience for end users. I remember we had a chance to invest in them, by the way. Don't believe the story that we could have bought them for a million. That is not the truth. The truth is we could have invested and then we should have invested in them. Why didn't we do it? No one had made any money at search.
We thought it'd be better just to hire them as a vendor.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–3:29
2
Why are 79% of B2B buyers saying AI search has changed their research habits?
3:29–9:36
3
How did Tim Sanders get started in search and what early disruptions did he witness?
9:36–33:30
4
What does moving from “reference” to “inference” mean for the modern buyer journey?
33:30–38:38
5
How do AI hallucinations affect AI‑driven research and how can they be reduced?
38:38–47:41
6
How are AI chatbots shortening the software‑selection process from days to minutes?
47:41–54:35