Are people getting tired of the internet?
It sounds like a strange question when we’re talking about digital marketing. But there’s something worth paying attention to right now. The platforms are racing to build more AI-driven, automated experiences — while a lot of the people using those platforms are quietly moving in the opposite direction. They want answers that feel human. They want less noise, not more. They want connection, not simply content to consume.
For B2B brands, that gap is actually an opportunity.
Engagement is getting harder to earn
If your posts felt like they were getting less traction in 2025, you weren’t imagining it. Buffer — a social media management platform that analyzed more than 52 million posts — found engagement declined across Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn year over year. Instagram dropped about 26 percent, Threads about 18 percent and LinkedIn about 5 percent.
Before you panic, here’s the context: This isn’t about the platforms becoming less popular; it’s about them getting more crowded. More brands, more creators, more professionals are publishing more content than ever. The pie isn’t shrinking, there are just more people at the table.
What Buffer’s data also found is that conversation beats everything else. Posts where creators consistently replied to comments outperformed those where they didn’t, especially on Threads and LinkedIn. Timing and frequency still matter, but showing up and actually talking to people matters more.
What does this mean for you? A dip in engagement isn’t a signal to blow up your strategy — it’s a signal to get more intentional about interaction. In B2B, relationships drive decisions, and visible conversation is currency. Replying to comments, engaging with your clients’ content, asking genuine questions in your posts — that’s not extra credit anymore. That’s the strategy.
TikTok is becoming a search engine
According to a recent Adobe Express survey, 49 percent of U.S. consumers now use TikTok as a search engine — up from 41 percent in 2024. Why? Because a short video that shows you exactly what you need, told by a real person, is often faster and more useful than scrolling through a page of links.
The same survey found 14 percent of respondents are now more likely to use ChatGPT than Google when they’re searching for something. Discovery is shifting — away from traditional search engines and toward social platforms and AI tools.
For small businesses already on TikTok, the biggest challenge isn’t getting attention. It’s converting that attention into actual business. Business owners surveyed said turning engagement into sales was their top hurdle, followed by building followers and keeping engagement consistent.
What does this mean for you? TikTok might not be the first platform you think of for B2B — but your buyers are people too, and they’re searching there. A short video that explains an industry concept, busts a common myth or answers the questions you hear on every sales call is more than just content. Inside TikTok, it functions like a search result. If your competitors aren’t there yet, that’s a window. And even if TikTok isn’t right for your brand, the broader lesson applies everywhere: educational, answer-first content is what gets found now.
LinkedIn content is showing up in AI answers
An analysis by SEMrush looked at 325,000 prompts across ChatGPT, Google’s AI Mode and Perplexity, another AI search tool and learned that LinkedIn was the second most cited source for AI-generated answers, right behind Reddit.
A separate study ranked LinkedIn among the fastest-rising sources cited by AI tools over just a few months. And research from an SEO agency called Eight Oh Two found that 37 percent of consumers now start their searches with AI tools rather than traditional search engines.
So when a potential client asks an AI tool about your industry, the problems you solve or the services you offer, there’s a growing chance the answer is being pulled from LinkedIn content.
What does this mean for you? Your LinkedIn posts and articles can now reach people who have never heard of you — not through ads, not through referrals, but through AI-generated answers to questions your future clients are already asking. Clear, specific, genuinely useful content about your area of expertise could surface directly in those answers. That’s a pretty compelling reason to keep publishing there consistently, even when it feels like shouting into the void.
Meta bets on AI social networks
Meta recently acquired an experimental platform called Moltbook. It’s built almost entirely around AI profiles interacting with each other. Think Reddit-style discussion threads, but instead of people talking, it’s AI bots having the conversations. Users can watch and vote, but the interaction itself is between AI agents.
This fits with what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been saying for a while — that AI personas could eventually operate across Facebook, Instagram and Threads just like human profiles do, complete with bios, content and ongoing conversations.
What does this mean for you? Social platforms are preparing for a future where AI agents participate in conversations alongside humans. Feeds are going to get noisier and more automated. Which means the thing that will actually stand out is you — real people, with real expertise, having real conversations. For B2B brands, that means getting your founders, your team and your actual humans in front of the camera and into the comments. The more human your presence is online, the more it cuts through as AI-generated content becomes the norm.
The rise of “screen-free” tech
A new wave of products is growing fast by doing something counterintuitive: Helping people spend less time on their phones.
Camp Snap launched in 2023 as a simple digital camera designed for summer camps where phones aren’t allowed. It has since sold more than one million units and found an audience way beyond kids — outdoor enthusiasts, sports fans, anyone who wants to capture a moment without reaching for their phone. Similar products like Tin Can phones and kids’ smartwatches designed to replace smartphones are seeing the same kind of word-of-mouth growth.
People are tired. Tired of being constantly connected, constantly scrolling, constantly reachable. And a growing number of them — especially younger users — are actively looking for ways to be more offline.
What does this mean for you? Your clients and prospects feel this too. Content that respects their time, gets to the point and actually delivers value is going to land differently than content that just adds to the noise. It’s also a quiet argument for in-person — events, conversations and relationship-building that happen off a screen. In B2B, where trust drives everything, the brands that show up in real life alongside their digital presence are going to have an edge.
TL;DR
- Engagement is down across major platforms — not because they’re dying, but because they’re more crowded. Conversation and consistency matter more than timing tricks.
- Nearly half of U.S. consumers use TikTok as a search engine. Educational, answer-first content functions like a search result inside the app.
- LinkedIn posts are increasingly showing up in AI-generated answers, giving your content reach far beyond your existing network.
- Meta’s latest move signals a future where AI agents participate in social feeds alongside humans — making authentic human presence more valuable, not less.
- The screen-free tech movement is a signal that people are burned out. Content that respects their time and delivers real value will always cut through.
As platforms push deeper into AI-driven discovery and automated interaction, the value of human expertise and genuine conversation may actually increase. Feeds may get more crowded and more algorithmic, but the people using them are still looking for answers, context and connection they can trust.
For B2B brands, that’s the opportunity. You don’t need to out-produce the algorithm or compete with AI-generated content at scale. What you can offer instead is interpretation — a clear point of view, real expertise and the ability to help your clients make sense of a noisy world. In an environment where technology keeps accelerating, the advantage belongs to the brands that are the most human.
Jessi Healey is a freelance writer and social media manager. Find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, or Bluesky.