Nearly seven in 10 B2B buyers prefer to complete purchases without interacting with a sales representative, underscoring a shift toward rep-free, self-directed, digital buying behavior, according to a survey released by Gartner.
It conducted the survey of 646 buyers from August 2025 through September 2025. Gartner found that 67% of B2B buyers favor a rep-free experience. At the same time, 45% said they used artificial intelligence tools during a recent purchase, indicating that AI is becoming a principal component of how business customers research and evaluate suppliers.
The findings highlight a continued move away from traditional, rep-led sales models across B2B commerce, with buyers completing more of the purchasing process independently before engaging with vendors.
“B2B buyers are progressing through critical buying tasks in more autonomous ways,” said Alyssa Cruz, senior principal analyst in Gartner’s sales practice. “Sellers can’t rely on static collateral to carry influence in those moments.”
Shifting further toward rep-free experiences for B2B buyers
For distributors and manufacturers, the shift is likely to accelerate investment in digital commerce capabilities. That can include AI-driven product discovery, pricing transparency and self-service tools.
Early-stage engagement with sales representatives is declining. Buyers increasingly rely on digital channels to search for products, compare options and validate decisions.
Gartner said sales organizations must adapt by moving away from static sales content and toward AI-enabled support that integrates into buyer workflows. That includes deploying AI agents to assist with tasks such as supplier evaluation, solution configuration and value assessment.
A central theme in the report is “value clarity.” That refers to a buyer’s understanding of how a product or service improves outcomes within their specific role and business context. Buyers who reach that level of confidence are twice as likely to report a high-quality purchase, Gartner said.
To support that shift, the firm recommends that sales and enablement teams:
- Deploy AI tools for both buyers and sellers to support self-service and assisted selling.
- Structure content into modular formats that can be dynamically tailored to specific use cases.
- Embed enablement capabilities into existing workflows to reduce friction and improve adoption.
The changes are part of a broader transition toward more automated, AI-mediated commerce models, where software increasingly supports or replaces traditional sales interactions.
For distributors, the implications are immediate. Competitive advantage is shifting toward digital experience, data quality and the ability to deliver timely, context-specific information without requiring direct sales engagement.
While sales representatives are expected to remain part of the process, their role is likely to shift toward later-stage involvement, including complex deal support and value articulation, rather than early-stage product training.
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