Latest updates for ANZ sales professionals
Gartner forecasts AI software spending will reach $453 billion in 2026, growing 60% year over year, then $638 billion in 2027. That is the fastest single-year growth in B2B software history. For sales teams: if your AI vendor is not growing at category rate, they are losing budget share.
SaaS investor Jason Lemkin says he now blocks PR domains daily after AI-generated outreach became unusable noise. PR professionals using generative AI jumped from 23% to 64% in a year, but mass automation is killing the feedback loops that built media relationships.
Google's AI Mode and AI Overviews are changing how buyers find vendors. Early data shows users less likely to click through AI-generated summaries, compressing the top-of-funnel discovery that feeds B2B pipelines. For sales teams relying on inbound leads from organic search, this is a structural shift.
New research shows Australia's government-funded innovation programs mandate tools empirically linked to failure. Tech Readiness Levels, Lean methodology, and Business Model Canvas dominate contracts despite evidence they don't work. The country ranks 22nd globally on innovation output, with only 46% of businesses actively innovating in 2023.
Google is turning Search into an AI answer engine that keeps users inside Google, not clicking through to websites. For ANZ startups relying on organic search to build pipeline, that means higher CAC and weaker attribution. AI Overviews already serve 1.5 billion users.
SaaStr's traffic nearly doubled year-on-year, with direct visits up 160%, organic search up 42%, and referrals up 116%. The data suggests AI adoption is driving B2B content consumption across all channels, not killing SEO as predicted. APAC is exploding: Singapore traffic up 429%, Australia up 127%.
Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh says Australia's AI adoption sits at 7%, concentrated in big banks and enterprise. The gap between large firms and SMEs is widening. For sales teams, that means the buyers with budget for AI tools are still mostly the majors: CBA, Macquarie, NAB, Westpac, ANZ.
SaaStr's flagship event lost 48 of its 2025 sponsors, nearly all legacy B2B SaaS companies. The trade show rebuilt with 63 new sponsors, mostly AI-native vendors chasing AI-first buyers. If your customer base still looks like 2023, here is your warning.
Atlassian fell off Australia's best tech workplace rankings after cutting 1,600 roles in May 2026, about 12% of its global workforce. The Sydney-based company also disappeared from LinkedIn's career growth list, marking a sharp reversal for the former employer brand leader.
Only 7% of Australian businesses broadly use AI, according to Federal Treasurer Andrew Leigh. For sales teams targeting SMB and enterprise segments, that is 93% greenfield opportunity with significant education friction. AI adoption remains concentrated among tech incumbents: Amazon, Optus, Telstra, Splunk.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced a 30% baseline tax on discretionary trust income in the 2026 Federal Budget. The measure hits 350,000 Australian small businesses currently using trusts for income splitting. Tax advisors predict a restructuring wave as businesses move away from trust structures.
Xero went down for five consecutive days during Australian tax return week, hitting 4.4 million subscribers globally. The outage exposed how software reliability issues impact the accounting software sales cycle, especially for teams selling into SMBs that depend on uptime during compliance deadlines.