73%
of B2B buyers actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach.
Source: Gartner, survey of 632 B2B buyers, published June 2025.
The AI Paradox, 2026 research report
You bought AI to reach more buyers. They are using it to avoid you.
Sales teams are sending more than ever and hearing back less than ever. This is why, and what the teams that are winning do differently.
72%
of sellers feel overwhelmed by the number of skills their job requires, and overwhelmed sellers are 45% less likely to attain quota.
Source: Gartner, survey of 1,026 B2B sellers, September 2024.
95%
of organizations studied reported no measurable return from their generative AI initiatives.
Source: MIT NANDA, The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025, July 2025.
The story, free
The two curves that should not coexist.
95% of organizations studied reported no measurable return from their generative AI initiatives.
Source: MIT NANDA, The GenAI Divide: State of AI in Business 2025, July 2025.
Every rep now sounds the same.
When every seller drafts with the same tools, buyers stop being able to tell sellers apart, so they tune all of them out. 73% of B2B buyers actively avoid suppliers who send irrelevant outreach.
Source: Gartner, survey of 632 B2B buyers, published June 2025.
67% of B2B buyers say they prefer a rep-free experience, and 45% used AI during a recent purchase.
Source: Gartner, March 2026.
More tools, less quota.
72% of sellers feel overwhelmed by the number of skills their job requires, and overwhelmed sellers are 45% less likely to attain quota. Volume was never the bottleneck.
Source: Gartner, survey of 1,026 B2B sellers, September 2024.
It is not AI. It is how it is used.
Sellers who effectively partner with AI tools are 3.7 times more likely to meet quota.
Source: Gartner, survey of 1,026 B2B sellers, September 2024.
By 2030, Gartner predicts 75% of B2B buyers will prefer sales experiences that prioritize human interaction over AI.
Source: Gartner, August 2025.
Buyers are not rejecting AI. They are rejecting sellers who hide behind it.
Authentically Human in the Age of AI.
Human selling to human
“He taught me the skills needed to become a top Sales Rep by teaching me "human selling to human".”
AG
Adithya Gopi
GTM, Rocketlane
Worked with Chad at Rocketlane
Self check
Where does your team sit?
Get the full report: the division of labor between AI and human work, and how to install it.
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What is inside the report.
- The two curves that should not coexist, AI adoption versus quota attainment.
- The mechanism, how more AI produces fewer deals.
- Why buyers now ask AI first, and where sellers still win.
- The no decision tax, the biggest competitor most teams face.
- The misdiagnosis, why volume was never the bottleneck.
- The human skills that pay, and the risk of letting them fade.
- The resolution, what authentically human selling means in the age of AI.
- A practical division of labor between AI and human work.
- An eight question self assessment for your team.
- Source notes citing Gartner, MIT, HubSpot, Salesforce, LinkedIn, Bain, The Bridge Group, Xactly, and more.