The unusual, unexpected, and human side of B2B technology
79% of B2B buyers now use AI search, and 57% never click through to a vendor site. Companies are racing to be remembered by machines, not humans.
When agentic AI freed up sales reps' time, one industrial supplier did something unexpected: they formally reduced inbox hours and changed performance reviews to focus on humans being human.
A Chicago startup built voice agents to take pizza orders. Then dentists, HVAC contractors, and funeral directors started signing up instead.
A B2B sales shop quietly built an AI system that reads 15 data sources per prospect in under a minute, then auto-writes emails triggered by obscure company news.
Trustpilot's new Shopify integration turns consumer ratings into B2B infrastructure — a cross-industry collision that rewires how millions of merchants run their stores.
Automated traffic hit 57% of web requests this June. Most enterprise marketing teams are optimizing for an audience that isn't human anymore.
A logistics software company let drivers choose their own loads and set their own schedules. In an industry where 80% of workers quit every year, one carrier's turnover fell to 35%.
An industrial automation firm repurposed its factory simulation software to schedule embalmings and cremations. Funeral homes say it cut wait times in half.
A simulation designed to teach nurses how to discuss menopause is being sold to hospitality companies to train managers. One hotel group cut housekeeping churn by 27%.
A Midwest logistics company installed vision software to reduce wasted steps. The system flagged something else: workers subtly changing how they moved to avoid pain.
Flexport's Ryan Petersen is doing something almost unheard of in B2B: publicly encouraging customers to use less of what he sells. The strategy reveals a bigger shift in how platforms compete.
Sometimes the most interesting thing about B2B coverage is what doesn't get covered. A search for unusual company pivots turned up only generic advice.