Distributors' Attitudes Towards AI Tools in Business-to-Business Sales Channels

Abstract

This study explores B2B distributors' attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) tools, particularly chatbots, as part of digital self-service in sales channels. AI-powered chatbots enable distributors to independently access information and are becoming increasingly common in the B2B context. A survey of 83 global distributors revealed generally positive attitudes toward AI tools. Among the respondents, 60% were open to interacting with chatbots, 27% were neutral, and only 10% were opposed. A majority of respondents (69%) agreed that chatbots are useful for information search. Chatbots were valued for their speed, ease of access, and ability to reduce search time, though they were not seen as suitable for complex support situations. Most respondents preferred a combination of information channels in their search process, and over 80% agreed that digital tools cannot fully replace human support. The findings highlight the importance of offering flexible, hybrid service models when serving B2B distributor partners.