Gartner (March 2026 survey of 646 B2B buyers, Aug-Sep 2025) — 67% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free experience; 45% used AI during a recent purchase
Summary
Claim: Gartner, March 2026 (survey of 646 B2B buyers, Aug-Sep 2025): 67% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free experience; 45% used AI during a recent purchase.
Source: Gartner press release / report, March 2026.
Confidence: Verified / Industry-consensus (Gartner is an independent research firm).
Caveat: B2B-specific. Applying it to all SMB audiences is a reasonable directional extension but not a measured fact for, say, B2C local services.
Why this matters for Candid: The single most important data point for the relationship-shift mechanism. The modern B2B buyer wants to find the answer, not be sold it. A tool sits exactly where they want to interact — see R6 — Meet the rep-free buyer with a tool BEFORE the contact form: most B2B buyers prefer to qualify themselves; the tool sits where they want to be met and the calculator brief's Gartner (Aug 19, 2024; survey of 5,728 customers Dec 2023) — only 14% of customer service / support issues are fully resolved in self-service; even for "very simple" issues only 36% resolve fully for the complement (self-service resolution stays hard).
Related entries
Referenced by (3)
- reference Research brief: why interactive tools deepen a business's relationship with its audience — a mechanism-level research package (June 2026) relates-to
- reference Gartner (632 B2B buyers, Aug-Sep 2024) — 61% prefer overall rep-free buying; 73% actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach; 69% report inconsistencies between vendor website and what reps tell them relates-to
- rule R6 — Meet the rep-free buyer with a tool BEFORE the contact form: most B2B buyers prefer to qualify themselves; the tool sits where they want to be met depends-on