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statistics · checked 25 September 2026

AI in marketing statistics for 2026, checked at the source

Nearly every B2B marketing team now uses AI, mostly to write, but far fewer see better work than faster work, and buyers are split on trusting it. Meanwhile buyers start their research in chatbots, and AI answers are taking clicks away from the pages that rank. Every number below is dated and sourced.

Each figure was read on the publisher’s own page, not a blog quoting it, and every one is from 2025 or 2026 with its sample stated. Where the publisher sells something the number flatters, we say so. Quote any of them with the source and date as given here.

By The Marketinque TeamReviewed September 2026

How many marketing teams use AI?

What is AI used for, and what does it return?

Do people trust what AI writes?

How do B2B buyers use AI when they buy?

  • 45% and 69% of B2B buyers used generative AI in a recent purchase, and 69% prefer to check what it told them with a sales rep.

    Gartner, 69% of B2B buyers turn to sales reps to validate AI-generated insights, 20 May 2026. 645 B2B buyers, August to September 2025.

  • 94% of business buyers use AI somewhere in the buying process, up from 89% a year earlier.

    Forrester, B2B buyers make zero-click buying number one, 22 January 2026. Forrester Buyers’ Journey Survey 2025; sample size not stated on the page.

  • 61% of the way through the buying journey is where B2B buyers first contact a seller, down from 69%; the pre-contact favourite still wins four deals in five.

    6sense, 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report, 12 November 2025. About 4,000 B2B buyers in North America, EMEA and APAC. 6sense sells intent data.

  • 51% of B2B software buyers now start research in an AI chatbot more often than in Google, up from 29% a year earlier.

    G2, The Answer Economy, 15 April 2026. 1,076 B2B software buyers, March 2026. G2’s own survey; G2 sells review and AI-search visibility services.

What do AI answers do to search traffic?

Which popular numbers did we leave out, and why?

  • “Search engine volume will drop 25% by 2026” (Gartner). A prediction made in February 2024, repeated as if it had happened. source
  • “91% of small businesses with AI say it boosts revenue” (Salesforce). The URL says 2025; the survey ran in 2024, and only businesses already using AI were asked. source
  • “An AI search visitor is worth 4.4 times an organic visitor” (Semrush). No sites, time window or definition of a conversion are disclosed. source
  • “58.5% of Google searches end without a click” (SparkToro, 2024). Outdated; the same author’s 2026 study reports 68% on a different panel, so the two cannot be compared. source
  • “75% of marketers have adopted AI” (Salesforce, 2026 headline). The article body ties 75% only to using AI for personalisation; no adoption question is shown. source

What does this mean for a team without a marketer?

Drafting is the part AI already does for almost everyone, and the part buyers trust least. The advantage has moved to deciding what to publish, being on the pages buyers and answer engines read before they ever talk to you, and putting a person on what goes out. That is what marketinque is built around; what it costs, and what the alternatives cost, is on the pricing explainer.