"57% of US B2B decision-makers use search engines during early research, more than any other channel, according to a January 2026 survey from Reddit and SurveyMonkey."
"Use this chart: Drop this in your B2B channel planning deck to defend search investment as table stakes. Use it to show leadership that even as AI rewires discovery, 57% of B2B decision-makers still start with traditional search engines, making SEO, SEM, and now GEO (generative engine optimization) the foundation of early-funnel visibility."
"Methodology: Data is from the March 2026 Reddit and SurveyMonkey report titled “The Hidden B2B Journey.” 1,202 business decision-makers in the United States were surveyed during December 23, 2025-January 7, 2026. Respondents were selected from the more than 2 million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. The modeled error estimate for this survey is +/- 3 percentage points."
A January 2026 survey of 1,202 US business decision-makers found that 57% use search engines during early research, more than any other channel. The results support investing in search as table stakes for B2B channel planning. Even as AI changes how people discover information, traditional search remains the starting point for many decision-makers. This foundation extends beyond SEO and SEM to include generative engine optimization (GEO) as AI-driven discovery becomes more prominent. The survey methodology used respondents from the SurveyMonkey panel, with data collected from December 23, 2025 to January 7, 2026 and a modeled error estimate of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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