Key Takeaways:
- Buyers increasingly use GenAI and digital channels for research, but 69% still prefer to validate AI-generated insights with sales reps at key decision points, according to Gartner
- Gartner said top sales teams should redesign roles around AI-augmented workflows so sellers can focus on judgment, empathy, and helping buyers move forward.
B2B buying is becoming more digital, more self-directed, and more influenced by generative artificial intelligence (AI). Buyers now use a wide range of digital channels and AI tools to research vendors and products, and many favor a low-friction, self-service experience over traditional rep-led engagement.
According to two new surveys release by Gartner at the Gartner CSO & Sales Leader Conference, it remains clear that buyers still want human validation at critical points in the journey and rely on sales reps to confirm AI-generated insights, reduce uncertainty, build internal support, and strengthen confidence in purchase decisions. These findings put at the forefront the value of human sellers when teams need context, reassurance, and a clear path forward.
This AI shift has major implications for sales organizations, leading Gartner officials to advocate for the redesigning roles around AI-augmented workflows and allow sellers to focus on empathy, judgment, and value realization. In this AI-driven buying environment, the most effective sellers become trusted guides who help customers move forward with confidence, rather than simply serving as sources of information.
What B2B Buyers Are Saying
The Gartner survey of B2B buyers found that 69% of B2B buyers prefer to validate AI-generated insights with sales reps as B2B buyers are increasingly using a mix of digital channels, AI, and human interactions throughout the purchase process. Buyers reported using an average of seven information sources during a recent purchase, and 45% said they used Gen AI, primarily to gather information on vendors and products.
At the same time, buyers continue to show a strong preference for low-friction, self-directed buying experiences. Sixty-seven percent of buyers prefer a sales-rep-free experience, while 70% prefer a completely digital, self-service buying experience.
“B2B buyers are more comfortable using digital channels and GenAI to navigate the purchase process on their own, but that does not eliminate the role of the seller,” said Robert Blaisdell, VP Analyst, Chief of Research in the Gartner Sales practice. “Buyers still turn to sales reps to validate AI-generated insights and support decision-making at critical moments in the journey.”
AI-Driven Buying Is Expanding, but Trust Remains a Challenge
As AI becomes a more common part of the B2B purchase journey, buyers are also weighing the reliability of the information they receive. Fifty-one percent of buyers say they are more likely to encounter misleading information from GenAI, while 49% say they are more likely to encounter misleading information from a sales rep.
According to Blaisdell, these findings point to a more nuanced buying environment: buyers want the speed and convenience of digital and AI-assisted research, but they still rely on sales reps when they need reassurance, context, and decision support. Interacting with a human contact remains the most important information source when buyers are researching a business problem or need, identifying a preferred supplier, securing internal support, and finalizing the purchase.
For sales leaders, the role of sellers is shifting from acting as the primary source of information to becoming a source of validation and confidence at key points in the buying process. Rather than maximizing rep involvement at every stage of the journey, organizations should focus on enabling sellers to engage where they add the greatest unique value.
“Sales leaders should not interpret buyer preference for digital self-service as a signal that sellers matter less,” concluded Blaisdell. “It is a signal that sellers need to show up differently, engaging where they can help buyers validate information, reduce risk, and move forward with greater confidence.”
How to Redesign Sales Roles in the Age of AI
AI-enabled growth depends not only on technology adoption but on redesigning sales roles around how work gets done, according to a separate Gartner survey of chief sales officers (CSOs).
Sales leaders should be focused on revaming roles for an AI-driven environment, aligning those roles to AI-augmented workflows, and preparing future roles to orchestrate AI agents. The need for that shift is becoming more urgent as Gartner predicts that by 2027, 95% of sellers’ research workflows will begin with AI, up from less than 20% in 2024.
Sales organizations that provide sellers with AI-enabled next best actions are 2.6x more likely to achieve commercial growth, according to the survey. Organizations that prioritize upskilling sellers on AI are 2.4x more likely to achieve strong revenue growth. However, the finding highlights a growing divide between the rapidly expanding capabilities of AI and sellers’ ability to apply those capabilities effectively in day-to-day work.
“The most effective sales organizations are not simply layering AI onto existing ways of working,” said Greg Hessong, Senior Director Analyst in the Gartner Sales practice. “They are redesigning seller workflows so AI can support execution, recommendations, and orchestration, while sellers focus their time on the moments when human judgment and customer value matter most.”
The Role of Human Oversight Is Still Key
Buyer data clarifies where human sellers still outperform GenAI, as buyers were 28 percentage points more likely to say a sales rep helped them advance to the next step in the purchase process than GenAI. Other key findings were:
- Buyers were 32 percentage points more likely to say a rep made them feel confident in the purchase decision.
- Buyers were 39 percentage points more likely to say a rep understood their needs.
- Buyers were 21 percentage points more likely to say a rep helped quantify the benefits for their organization.
Buyers who spent more time with supplier reps reported the lowest levels of dysfunction, and buying groups with low dysfunction were 13x more likely to report high-quality deals.
AI is well suited to activities such as account research, personalized messaging, signal monitoring, and next best actions, while sellers remain differentiated in empathy, judgment, contextual understanding, and value framing.
“Sales leaders who win with AI will not ask sellers to do everything they did before, just faster,” advised Hessong. “They will build AI-augmented roles that give sellers more capacity to help customers realize value, advance decisions, and achieve better outcomes.”
