Building on the heritage of our long-running Future Shopper research, the study reveals both the forces reshaping enterprise purchasing and the sector differences across seven priority industries that determine how suppliers earn attention, build confidence, and turn preference into decision.
The energy sector has adopted Generative AI for enterprise procurement faster than any other industry. Yet despite operating with the smallest buying committees in B2B at just over four stakeholders, more than half of major initiatives stall due to unproven commercial returns – forcing risk-averse buyers back to "safe" legacy incumbents.
VML’s "The Future Buyer: Energy" report examines how energy buyers research, evaluate and select suppliers for major investments – and what it takes for suppliers to win their business.
Download our 2026 Energy report
Energy purchasing involves an average of 4.2 stakeholders – the smallest cohort across all industries. But smaller groups mean direct C-suite visibility and zero place to hide. Because individual career accountability is so high, buyers routinely retreat to familiar legacy suppliers over lower-cost or innovative alternatives.
Energy leads all enterprise sectors in AI-driven procurement discovery. More than half of buyers formulate strong supplier preferences before ever initiating direct contact or launching a formal RFP. If your solutions are not indexed and cited in AI models, you are eliminated before the bidding opens.
More than half of energy buyers cite unclear ROI as the primary reason deals collapse into "no decision." Energy buyers are now explicitly prompting AI discovery tools to prioritize suppliers with verified economic impact and documented longevity. To win, commercial proof must accompany technical capabilities from day one.
Energy suppliers today are under pressure to demonstrate the commercial case from the start of the buying journey through to final approval.
The world of B2B marketing is being disrupted. 55% of buyers now begin supplier research with Generative AI. To win, your brand must be found by AI, trusted by people and approved by the buying group. Introducing The Future Buyer Report series by VML – a comprehensive study of modern B2B buying behavior based on first-party research with 750 buyers across eight international markets. Seven reports, seven industries – delivering a clear view of what influences buying decisions and how brands can act.
According to VML's "The Future Buyer: Energy Report 2026," 76% of energy buyers begin supplier research using Generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and proprietary internal systems). Direct supplier outreach ranks second at 55%, followed by traditional search engines at 42%. Over 39% form a supplier preference before ever speaking directly to a sales representative.
The leading reason energy purchasing initiatives stall or collapse is an insufficient or unclear ROI case, cited by 52% of energy buyers (compared to 34% across other B2B sectors). Secondary obstacles include risk and compliance concerns (42%) and procurement process complexity (39%). Furthermore, 37% of significant initiatives end without any purchase decision being made.
Energy purchasing involves substantial career and operational risk. 73% of energy buyers report that they heavily consider the impact of supplier selection on their professional reputation, and 73% have actively chosen a "safe," well-known supplier over a competitor offering better value simply to protect internal credibility.
Provable ROI is the top supplier selection criterion for major energy investments, selected by 61% of buyers. Strong brand reputation ranks second at 52%, followed by verified supplier track record (48%). Lowest price was prioritized by only 21% of respondents, indicating that commercial proof and reliability outweigh cost cutting.
Energy buyers are increasingly open to AI-led evaluation. 69.7% would feel fairly or fully comfortable approving a significant purchase where AI conducted the primary evaluation. This includes 45.5% who would be comfortable if the criteria were defined by a trusted human and 24.2% who believe AI evaluation can be more consistent and less biased than human review.
Yes. A supplier’s AI capability was the primary differentiating factor for 27.3% of energy buyers when choosing between comparable suppliers. It also contributed meaningfully to the decision for a further 48.5% – meaning 75.8% say supplier AI capability has already influenced selection in some way.
AI is expected to play a significant role in upcoming energy procurement decisions. 72.7% expect AI to conduct a meaningful share of research and evaluation, act as the primary evaluation mechanism or manage most of the process, with humans retaining final approval. Only 6.1% expect AI to play no meaningful role.
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