Three-quarters of B2B marketers warn of inadequate AI vendor scrutiny
A study by Ledger Bennett and StackAdapt revealed that 77% of B2B marketers believe AI scrutiny in RFPs is inadequate, with over 60% unable to distinguish genuinely useful AI capabilities from hype. The research also highlighted challenges in cross-channel measurement and a lack of unified reporting, leading to dissatisfaction with the current B2B RFP process. Marketers emphasized the need for more integrated partners, transparency in AI benefits, and simplified measurement approaches.
Key Takeaways
- Only 23% of B2B marketers evaluate AI vendors against clearly defined criteria.
- Manual data stitching persists for 59% of respondents, with zero reporting a fully unified reporting layer.
- Cross-channel performance remains a blind spot, with 63% unable to measure success across fragmented platforms.
- Poor strategic alignment led 50% of marketers to experience negative outcomes like reduced ROI and missed launches.
Why It Matters
The findings expose a critical gap in B2B procurement where the pressure to adopt AI has outpaced the technical frameworks required to audit it. For the streaming industry, this suggests that vendor claims regarding AI-based personalization or churn prediction may be sliding through RFPs without rigorous validation. As B2B buyers manage an average of six or more media platforms, the lack of unified measurement creates a significant 'attribution tax' where upper-funnel activities like video are chronically undervalued. Success now depends on pivoting from manual data aggregation to integrated orchestration layers that prioritize cross-channel visibility. Watch for the emergence of standardized AI audit frameworks in upcoming industry RFPs to mitigate this evaluation risk.
Additional Context
The demand for better scrutiny arrives as AI shifts from experimental to operational infrastructure. According to the IAB 2026 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report, digital video spend is projected to surpass $80 billion this year, growing 20% faster than the broader ad market. This growth is increasingly fueled by agentic AI—systems that execute workflows and optimize bids autonomously—with the IAB reporting that nearly all digital video buyers are either currently testing or planning near-term activation of these systems. However, as the Ledger Bennett study suggests, this rapid adoption is colliding with significant measurement hurdles. External data from Gartner's 2026 Marketing Symposium supports the concern over a competence gap, noting that 98% of CMOs are now piloting AI, but only one-third are seeing expected returns. Furthermore, per Gartner, while 70% of marketers are expected to use AI daily, only half receive formal organizational support or guidelines. This lack of internal structure mirrors the dissatisfaction with external vendor evaluation processes identified by StackAdapt. Technological complexity is also expanding the number of touchpoints in the buyer journey. Recent analysis from Forrester and Gartner indicates that B2B buyers now use an average of seven information sources during research, with 45% utilizing generative AI to compare products. As 60% of the customer journey remains 'invisible' to traditional tracking, the B2B sector is under increasing pressure to adopt unified measurement standards. In response, firms like Ledger Bennett and StackAdapt are calling for result-oriented frameworks to align strategy with execution before automated tools further fragment reporting.
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