75% of B2B Leaders Trust Human Guidance Over AI

New research from Seismic suggests AI is increasing the importance of human judgment in complex enterprise buying decisions.

The report, The New Go-to-Market Standard for B2B Selling, examines what senior buyers need when evaluating enterprise technology.

It finds that access to AI-generated information has not simplified purchasing: decisions still involve multiple stakeholders, competing inputs and increased scrutiny.

Three in four respondents (75%) said they trust human guidance more when it conflicts with AI-generated content. Nearly half (46%) said AI-generated information has made them more reliant on people in high-stakes decisions, while 34% turn to a vendor representative or human expert to validate claims they have encountered elsewhere.

Rob Pinkerton, Chief Marketing Officer, Seismic, said:

“AI has made information abundant, but buyers still need help deciding what matters. This is creating a selling renaissance, where sellers play an increasingly important role and earn trust by helping buyers make sense of complexity, navigate tradeoffs and reach decisions they can defend.”

The research also found that buyers often turn to people for support at key stages of a purchase:

More than half of leaders (55%) say they rely on a vendor representative or human expert when negotiating pricing or contract terms.
Nearly half (49%) turn to people to assess ROI or business-case fit, while 45% rely on human expertise to understand risk and potential downsides.
More than two in five respondents (43%) say they rely on a vendor representative or human expert to interpret how a solution applies to their specific situation.
More than half of respondents (51%) said sellers could guide them more effectively by explaining and quantifying ROI.

The findings point to a role for sales teams that extends beyond providing product information, with buyers seeking help applying research to their own business needs and weighing potential trade-offs.

Pinkerton added:

“The higher the stakes, the more buyers turn to people. That raises the bar for every seller to deliver consistent, sound judgment. GTM teams need to make great seller performance repeatable by connecting trusted information, customer context and guidance in the flow of work, so every seller can act with confidence in the moments that matter.”

Methodology

Seismic commissioned NewtonX to conduct research with 200 C-level and senior leaders across North America and Northern EMEA who evaluate, approve, manage or fund revenue technology. The survey was fielded from July 20 to July 30, 2026.