Why buyers ask ChatGPT instead of Google when researching software
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They do, and by less than the headlines say. These are the numbers we could read at their source, what each one covers, and what follows if you sell software.
How many buyers do it
- Half of software buyers start with a chatbot. “51% of B2B software buyers start their research with an AI chatbot more often than Google.” 71% say they rely on AI chatbots for software research. From G2’s survey of 1,076 B2B decision makers in March 2026 (G2, AI search insight report).
- They have not left Google. In the same survey, “80% still use Google somewhere in their buying journey.”
- The assistants are large. In February 2026 OpenAI said ChatGPT “has reached 900 million weekly active users” (TechCrunch).
- Most searching still happens on Google. On US desktops in the last quarter of 2025, a study by SparkToro and Datos found “Google alone was responsible for 73.7% of all desktop searches”, with ChatGPT at 2.86% (reported by PPC Land).
Put together: people who are buying software use AI for it far more than people in general use AI for search. Both numbers are true at once.
Why they do it
- It gives a shortlist, not a reading list. G2 found that “AI chatbots are the #1 source influencing which vendors make buyer shortlists.” (How AI search tools decide.)
- It is faster. “8 out of 10 say those AI chatbots accelerated their purchasing decision.”
- Google now answers on the page too. Pew Research followed the browsing of 900 US adults in March 2025. “Users who encountered an AI summary clicked on a traditional search result link in 8% of all visits.” Without one, it was 15%. A link inside the summary was clicked “in just 1% of all visits” (Pew Research Center).
- They still check. G2 again: “Buyers trust recommendations from AI chatbots, but they still want receipts.”
What follows if you sell software
- The shortlist can be made before anyone visits your site. A buyer who was never shown your name does not go looking for it.
- Expect fewer visits from it, and better ones. One company’s figures: at Ahrefs, AI search “accounts for just 0.5% of our traffic”, and “12.1% of Ahrefs signups come from AI search”. The author adds, “This might be somewhat unique to us” (Ahrefs, June 2025).
- Google still matters, twice. Most buyers still use it, and Gemini and Google’s AI answers read from its index. SEO, AEO and GEO.
- Find out what the assistants say on your buyers’ questions. It is the one part of this you can see for yourself today. How to measure it.
Wellread asks ChatGPT and Gemini the questions your buyers ask and shows who they name. A scan is free and needs no sign-in. Run yours.