State of Marketing to Engineers Research Report

Survey Results

 

Buying Process

 

Technical Buyers Complete 62% of the Buying Journey Before Contacting a Vendor

 

Younger technical buyers spend slightly more time online before engaging with sales. Those 35 and under spend an average of sixty-six percent of the buying process online, compared to sixty-three percent for those aged 36-55, and sixty-two percent for those 56 and over.

Each year the amount of the buying process occuring online continues to increase, with younger technical buyers delaying their first vendor interaction the longest.

 

 

"Giving your prospects access to the knowledge they need will encourage them to keep returning for more, and build your brand as a trusted source of information.”

Jake Hall | Industry Advocate | The Manufacturing Millennial

 

Pricing and Inventory Questions Are the Top Trigger for First Vendor Contact

 

Technical buyers were motivated to interact with sales to understand pricing and inventory. They’re also interested in validating information found online and better understanding complex solutions. Only ten percent of respondents say they’d prefer not to interact with a salesperson at all.

To see the full breakdown of reasons technical buyers are motivated to interact with sales, download the complete report.

 

"With technical buyers, we typically don’t hear from them until they need pricing and timelines. Therefore, during our first conversation, our teams need to be prepared to capture all the technical details of the customer's application and their goals to make sure our products, services, and expertise align with their needs.”

Bill Carlson | Managing Director | BDC Laboratories

 

59% of Technical Buyers Prefer Email for First Vendor Contact

 

Consistent with past research, technical buyers prefer their initial sales contact to happen via email. Twenty-two percent would prefer a phone call. LinkedIn direct messages and text messages were the least popular options.

 

Brand Familiarity Tips the Scales When Solutions Look the Same

 

When evaluating two technically similar solutions, seventy percent of buyers are either likely or very likely to choose the better-known brand.

 

 

Information Sources

 

Technical Publications Take the Lead as Engineers' Go-To Research Destination

 

Online technical publications doubled in popularity, up thirty-seven percentage points, and generative AI platforms increased in popularity by eight percentage points.

 

Youtube and LinkedIn Once Again Lead as Most Valued Social Media for Work

 

When compared to last year, there have been minor shifts in preferences. Stack Overflow and Reddit have grown in popularity, while X and TikTok use has eroded even further.

To see the full breakdown of preferred social channels by age and region, download the complete report.

 

 

68% of Technical Buyers Listen to Work-Related Podcasts, With More Time Spent by Younger Engineers

 

 

 

"To successfully leverage audio content to the max, don't just post your final, long-form episode to Apple Podcasts and Spotify and call it a day. Repurpose, repurpose, repurpose! Chances are, your podcast episodes contain 10+ individual insights that can stand on their own. Turn those into short captioned video clips, graphics, and other content that can be easily shared to social media. A single podcast episode should be able to equip you with at least a few weeks' worth of great content to share across your other digital properties."

Chris Luecke | Host | Manufacturing Happy Hour

 

AI & Search Behavior

 

Technical Buyers Rate Generative AI Answers a 4.7 for Trustworthiness

 

Technical buyers approach generative AI with measured skepticism. When asked to rate their trust in generative AI platforms on a scale of 1 to 10, respondents averaged a 4.7, reflecting a cautious use rather than a reliant use. The average trust level came in at 4.4 in 2025 and a 6.5 in 2024.

To see the full breakdown of trust by region, download the complete report.

 

 

Trust may be low, however, generative AI tools are being used in purchasing decisions more often. Thirty-one percent say they “never” use generative AI tools to help evaluate vendors or research product/service options, down from forty-two percent last year.

 

AI Search Summaries are a Starting Point, Not a Destination

 

AI overviews are noticed and used, cautiously. Seventy-five percent of technical buyers have noticed AI-generated summaries at the top of their search results. Of those, sixty-nine percent read the summary and then continue to the actual search results. Only six percent find that the summary is “usually enough” information. Overall, technical buyers trust AI overviews as much as any other AI-generated content.

 

 

This year’s 2026 State of Marketing to Engineers research underscores similar results from January 2026 research from SparkToro. The SparkToro team segmented its response data for engineers and industrial and manufacturing firms in the United States to find that sixty-six percent of its responding engineers visited ChatGPT more than once per month in the prior quarter, slightly higher than the average American web user, and use of Perplexity, Deepseek, and Claude were also higher than average.

 

One thing I urge caution on is trusting AI answers with lists of recommendations. They're quite accurate when it comes to specific facts, but they randomize product, brand, account, and location recommendations dramatically. For example, our recent research showed that there’s a <1 in 100 chance that ChatGPT or Google’s AI, if asked to rank the top [insert product] one hundred separate times, the tool will give you the same list of brands in any two responses.”

Rand Fishkin | Co-Founder, CEO | SparkToro

 

Traditional Search Still Dominates

 

When searching for information, technical buyers still heavily favor traditional search engines over generative AI platforms, with sixteen percent using them equally.

 

 

To see the full breakdown of sentiments regarding sponsored search, download the complete report.

 

Learning

 

90% of Technical Buyers Spend at Least an Hour a Month on Development

 

Technical buyers are invested in learning, with ninety percent spending at least an hour per month on professional learning or skills development. Forty-seven percent spend more than 5 hours per month.

 

 

To see the full breakdown of preferred learning styles amongst technical buyers, download the complete report.

 

Content

 

Engineering Experts Rank #1 in Author Trust, AI Tools Rank Last

 

Engineering experts at vendor companies are the most trusted content authors, with sixty-six percent of technical buyers considering them very or extremely trustworthy. Generative AI tools rank lowest on trust, with ten percent considering them “very” or “extremely” trustworthy.

 

85% of Technical Buyers Will Share Their Info for Valuable Technical Content

 

Eighty-five percent of technical buyers are willing to provide their information for technical content they find valuable.

To see the full breakdown of the types of content where technical buyers are most likely to provide contact information, download the complete report.

 

94% of Technical Buyers Subscribe to Work-Related Newsletters

 

Newsletter subscribers are looking to stay informed on industry trends and learn about new products and services. Just six percent of technical buyers skip work-related newsletter subscriptions altogether.

Top engagement actions include reading articles (sixty-three percent), downloading spec sheets (sixty percent), and visiting vendor websites (fifty-six percent).

 

 

94% of Technical Buyers Watch Work-Related Videos

 

They’re most interested in how-to guides, whiteboard sessions, and product demos. Shorter is better for most content, but there’s an expectation that whiteboard sessions and conference presentations will run a little longer.

To see video preferences around the globe, as well as the ideal length of different video types, download the complete report.

 

"Video content that shows performance resonates most. Case study videos, application walkthroughs, teardown explanations, and real-world demonstrations build trust far more effectively than promotional claims. If a company is newer and doesn’t yet have a deep portfolio of examples, genuinely educational content is the next best path. Answer real technical questions. Teach something useful. When engineers learn from you, they begin to trust you."

Peter Matthews | Director of Technical Marketing | Knowles Precision Devices

 

49% of Technical Buyers Attend Four or More Webinars a Year

 

Ninety-one percent of technical buyers attend at least one work-related webinar annually with forty-nine percent attending more than three.

 

 

To learn what technical buyers find most valuable about webinars, download the complete report.

Live Webinar 

2026 State of Marketing to Engineers

April 8, 2026 | 9:00am CT

 

Join GlobalSpec and TREW Marketing, in collaboration with Elektor, for a live, interactive webinar to learn key findings from their award-winning annual research study. The 2026 State of Marketing to Engineers research examines the buying behaviors and communication preferences of engineers and technical buyers.

This research combines recurring themes with new topics to better understand emerging behaviors. This year, we take a closer look at evolving trust in generative AI platforms, how engineers navigate search experiences, and the continued shift in where (and how) they prefer to consume technical content.

During the webinar you will uncover new insights about technical buyers, including:

• Attitudes toward generative AI

• How technical buyers navigate independent sources, vendor content, and sponsored search results

• Popular social media channels for work

• Where technical buyers routinely seek information

• Which brand factors most influence credibility and vendor selection

Whether you’re adapting your strategy for AI-influenced search or refining your content strategy for technical audiences, the insights in this report will help you connect more effectively with technical buyers in 2026 and beyond.

 

 

Meet the Speakers