Bain says most software buyers use AI to find vendors. Treat a first visit as a shortlist, not a stranger.

Bain & Company said on October 23 that most software buyers now use AI to find vendors, so read a first visit from a new account as a shortlist, not a stranger. Partner Natasha Sommerfeld wrote up Bain's snap chart. It draws on Bain's B2B IT Decision Maker Survey, run in July 2026 with 207 respondents.

The nuance is in the footnote. The chart counts only the two heaviest answers. Almost always means more than 75% of the time. Most of the time means 50% to 75%. So most here means buyers who lean on AI for the search, not the ones who use it now and then.

Bain's own read: If you’re not on AI’s initial list, your sales funnel might shrink. That's right, and it's half the job. The buyer who comes off that list has done the research somewhere else. Your site is the first place you can see them.

That visit is a signal, something a buyer just did, like coming back to your pricing page. Working out which company it is, and acting on it inside rules you set: this is the part I do.

Getting on the list is the first job. Noticing who it sends you is the second.