Chapters
- 0:00Buyers ask AI first
- 0:05From search ads to ads in AI answers
- 0:1151% of B2B software buyers start in an AI chatbot
- 0:1794% of ChatGPT users don't pay: free is where ads run
- 0:23The first-mover head start, and what to do
Transcript
Your next customer won't search for you first. They'll ask AI. Every time buyers moved, a new ad channel opened: search ads in the 2000s, social ads in the 2010s, and in 2026, ads inside AI answers. The teams that moved first set the benchmark. Half of B2B software buyers now start in an AI chatbot, and 69% chose a different vendor than planned because of what it said. Most people use ChatGPT for free, even at work: 94% of its weekly users don't pay, and 78% of AI users bring their own AI tools to work. Free is where the ads run. My advice: map your buyers' questions, test for 90 days, keep what works. Before your competitors do.
Key facts in the video
- 51% of B2B software buyers start their research in an AI chatbot, and 69% chose a different vendor than planned because of what a chatbot told them (G2, March 2026).
- ChatGPT had 900 million weekly users and 50 million paying subscribers in February 2026, so about 94% of weekly users don't pay. ChatGPT ads show on the Free and Go plans.
- 78% of AI users bring their own AI tools to work (Microsoft and LinkedIn Work Trend Index 2024).
- The head-start chart is illustrative: it shows how learning compounds for the team that starts first.
What to do next
Map the questions your buyers ask AI, test ChatGPT ads for 90 days, and work on AEO and GEO so you're named in the answers that paid-plan users see too. Read more in What are AI ads?, AEO vs GEO vs SEO and the ChatGPT ads field guide.
