Forrester’s new B2B agency research points to a commercial problem hiding inside the AI boom: buyers increasingly want agencies that can guide AI adoption, but few say agencies are delivering. In the firm’s 2026 B2B Brand and Communications Survey, 54% of marketing leaders said data strategy and AI readiness matter when selecting an agency, while just 10% said they were satisfied with agencies’ ability to execute. For business owners, that makes AI competence a buying criterion, not a slogan. For agencies, it is a warning that client expectations are moving faster than many service models.

AI readiness is becoming part of the agency brief

The finding appears in Forrester’s report, “B2B Brand And Communications Agencies Fail To Meet The AI Needs Of Marketers,” published October 15. Forrester says every AI-related capability it measured showed a double-digit percentage-point gap between importance and satisfaction. The report summary identifies data strategy and AI readiness as a key selection factor, and notes that marketing teams facing internal skills gaps are looking to outside partners for help.

That does not mean companies expect an agency to install a chatbot and call the work transformation. They need help deciding where AI belongs, preparing usable data, changing workflows, measuring results, and building the skills to operate new systems. The public report summary does not provide the survey’s sample size or full methodology, so the figures should be read as a warning signal from surveyed B2B marketers, not as a census of every buyer or agency.

Adoption is widespread; operational readiness is not

Separate Forrester research helps explain why demand is rising. In its 2026 Marketing Survey, based on responses from more than 1,000 B2B marketing decision-makers, 88% of B2B marketing organizations had adopted AI tools or developed their own. Yet leaders still reported unclear AI strategy, difficulty measuring impact, data-infrastructure challenges, and uncertainty about where to apply AI. Adoption is a measure of access and activity; it does not prove that a company can turn tools into consistent business outcomes.

This distinction changes the agency conversation. A client does not need a partner to repeat that AI can produce drafts faster. It needs an accountable plan to move from one contained use case to a reliable workflow, with data permissions, quality checks, human ownership, and a way to tell whether the change improved marketing performance. Agencies that can connect those parts solve the practical problem buyers are signaling.

What business owners should ask before hiring

Use the AI-readiness gap to make agency selection more specific. Ask prospective partners to show evidence, not just a list of platforms:

  • Choose a business outcome first. Name the bottleneck to improve, such as qualified-lead response time, content review cycles, campaign measurement, or product-data accuracy. Set a baseline and define what success would look like before adding AI.
  • Request a workflow demonstration. Ask the agency to show where data enters, what the model or automation does, where a person reviews the result, how errors are handled, and how the work reaches the customer. A polished demo without ownership and controls is not an operating plan.
  • Clarify governance and proof. Agree on what information can be used, who approves outputs, how claims are checked, and which metrics will be reported. Ask for a relevant case study with a measurable before-and-after, while separating observed results from projections.
  • Plan for capability transfer. Decide which tasks the agency will operate, which the client team will own, and what training or documentation is included. This prevents a pilot from becoming a permanent dependency that the business cannot evaluate or maintain.

Agencies need to sell capability, not the AI label

For agencies, the strongest response is to package expertise around a defined client problem: an AI-readiness assessment, workflow redesign, measurement plan, or staff enablement program. Each offer should identify its deliverables, client responsibilities, data safeguards, success measures, and the point at which a human makes the decision. Broad claims such as “AI-powered marketing” will be harder to defend when buyers are asking whether the work actually improves execution.

The opportunity is not to automate every service or promise that AI guarantees growth. It is to help clients make sound decisions, reduce friction in a specific process, and build durable capability. Agencies that can demonstrate that value will be easier to trust and easier to retain as buyers scrutinize spend.

Real Internet Sales helps businesses connect digital marketing strategy with practical technology and measurable execution. To discuss an AI-ready marketing plan for your organization, call 803-708-5514 or visit realinternetsales.com.

Sources: Forrester, “B2B Brand And Communications Agencies Fail To Meet The AI Needs Of Marketers”; Forrester, “B2B Marketing Is Moving Faster Than Its Foundations Can Handle”.