Technical Buyers Are Using Generative AI, But Many Don’t Trust the Results
In a recent Global Spec survey of technical buyers, 70% said they use generative AI tools in their purchasing processes. But they ranked their trust in the results at 4.7 out of 10. This response indicates that while GEO Search has been embraced by B2B and life science buyers, the credibility of the results may limit their value in supplier selection.
The study also revealed that brand continues to play an important role in the purchasing process. 53% said brand familiarity positively influenced their most recent purchase, and 70% said that if the technical solutions are equal, they are likely to choose the most familiar brand.
On questions concerning marketing tactics:
- 68% of technical buyers listen to work-related podcasts
- 94% subscribe to work-related newsletters
- 91% attend at least one work-related webinar during the year
- 94% watch work-related videos
- 85% will provide their contact information for technical content they find valuable
When it comes to product and service research, the most frequent destinations were online technical publications and vendor/supplier websites. The most trusted content authors were engineering experts and technical product managers at supplier companies.
TW’s Take
The Global Spec survey, plus other research we have reviewed, makes it clear that technical buyers are employing generative AI search (GEO search) tools as a part of their purchasing processes. This trend will put increasing pressure on vendors to ensure their websites are optimized for GEO search. Buyers are using this new technology for questions such as:
- “What is the best process for…?”
- “What is the difference between X and Y?”
- “When should we use company X vs. company Y?”
- “What are the three best products to do…?”
In addition, the importance of brand familiarity continues to drive value. The research makes it clear that when the buying decision comes down to parity products, brand experience probably wins the order.
The value of well organized, content-rich websites was also evident. Vendor websites were cited as the most frequent destinations for product and service research, plus the high credibility of supplier engineering experts and technical product managers makes them key contributors in the early-stage buying process.
For a copy of the Global Spec study, email [email protected].
