Ask most technology leaders anecdotally how their customer relationships are doing, and the answer sounds solid. Renewal rates hold up, and people are continuing to invest in tech to stay competitive. However, there’s a danger in getting too comfortable.

Recent research among UK IT decision-makers found that while the large majority rate their vendor relationships positively overall, almost half say slow response times are a persistent frustration, and 40% flag integration issues without a proper fix.

Leaders who only track the headline number miss the friction clearly sitting beneath it. This matters for two reasons: how customers find technology providers has changed, and so has what they need from them.

AI is reshaping discovery

Many consumers now use AI when making a purchase. A simple search of ‘best budget sofas’ will generate a list of pros and cons from Google’s Gemini. Whether it's a reseller weighing up a new supplier or an enterprise buyer choosing between platforms, the same is largely true for tech buyers. Somewhere between deciding they have a problem and picking up the phone, they stop and ask an AI tool what it thinks.