ChatGPT moves into commerce
The hosts opened with news that OpenAI’s ChatGPT now lets users buy directly from Etsy, with Shopify integration coming next. Brian noted the parallel to Google Shopping and Meta’s commerce features, but pointed out that the intent signal is stronger when someone is already using ChatGPT to research a purchase. Amazon is not participating, choosing not to open its catalog to OpenAI’s platform.
Andy framed this as a three-way competition for the front end of commerce: Google, Amazon, and now ChatGPT, with Apple potentially joining through Siri and Apple Intelligence. The implication for B2B is that what starts in consumer commerce tends to show up in business purchasing within a few years.
Analyst firm stocks crater
The main topic was whether AI will replace research analysts. Andy opened with the numbers: Gartner’s stock was down roughly 50% in 2025, and Forrester’s was down about 44%. He noted that Gartner had been valued at over 30 billion dollars at its peak and was closer to 10 to 12 billion at the time of the episode.
This is not a coincidence. It is indicative of something.
Andy Hoar, Master B2B
Andy, who spent seven years running Forrester’s B2B e-commerce practice, offered a breakdown of what analysts do. The work falls into three buckets: research (reports, models, frameworks, surveys), advisory consulting (inquiries, working sessions, workshops, evaluations), and project consulting (longer strategic engagements). Research accounts for 70% or more of revenue at both Gartner and Forrester.
What AI can already do
The hosts walked through each area to assess where AI is a threat. On the research side, AI tools can already write short and long-form reports, build models and frameworks, and create comparison tables. ChatGPT with deep research can approximate what an analyst might take days or weeks to produce, delivering a first draft in minutes.
Andy noted that quality still matters. Homemade is still better than factory manufactured, as he put it. But for many buyers, good enough may be sufficient, especially when the alternative is a six-figure subscription.
Where humans still win
The advisory consulting side is more defensible. A 30-minute inquiry with an analyst who understands your specific context, knows the nuances of your industry, and can apply judgment about what is a fad versus what is real, is harder to replicate.
ChatGPT is not talking to people in the field. They are aggregating stuff. If I am working at an electrical distributor and I need to implement a PIM system, I kind of want to know how other electrical distributors are doing that.
Andy Hoar, Master B2B
However, Andy put an asterisk on this. He sees a future where companies talk to an AI agent that has been trained on an analyst firm’s proprietary data and presents itself as a named expert with a human-like persona. Whether that is three years away or ten, he considers it inevitable.
The Blockbuster analogy
Brian drew a comparison to Blockbuster, which was displaced by Netflix because it failed to shift to a new delivery model. Netflix then disrupted itself again, moving from DVDs by mail to streaming. The question is whether Gartner and Forrester will do the same, cannibalizing their own subscription research business to build AI-native products.
Andy mentioned his own e-Combine tool as a step in this direction: a self-service way for companies to compare e-commerce platforms. He noted that Forrester and Gartner have not done something similar, likely because it would cannibalize the wave and magic quadrant products that generate significant revenue.
This is their Blockbuster moment. Are they going to cannibalize themselves or be cannibalized?
Andy Hoar, Master B2B
Practitioners still trust humans
The hosts shared results from a LinkedIn poll asking whether AI will replace research analysts as the primary source of guidance for technology comparisons in B2B commerce. Of those who responded, 86% said no.
Brian interpreted this as a sign that practitioners still value human expertise and are skeptical that AI can deliver the contextual, nuanced advice they need. But he also noted that this could change as AI capabilities mature and as new entrants build analyst-like products designed from the ground up around AI delivery.
What this means for B2B leaders
The practical takeaway is that the value proposition of analyst firms is shifting. The research component, which has been the core of their business, is increasingly replicable by AI. The advisory and contextual components remain valuable but represent a smaller share of revenue and are harder to scale. For B2B leaders who rely on analyst guidance, the implication is to pay attention to where the real value is coming from and whether that value can be delivered faster or cheaper through new channels.