Your proprietary data is a powerful PR asset you're not using

Fifty-one percent of B2B software buyers now start their research with an AI chatbot rather than Google. That's up from 29% just one year ago, according to a recent AI Search Insight Report by G2. And 69% of those buyers chose a different vendor than they'd originally planned, based on what the AI told them.

Let that sink in. Buyers changed their minds based on AI guidance. As a tech brand, if you're not helping shape what AI says about your company, you've ceded part of the conversation to a system you've never briefed. Start by giving it what it needs: clear, credible answers to the questions your audiences are already asking.

The edge will go to companies that use their data and expertise to answer the questions buyers are already asking, clearly and credibly.

The data you're sitting on is worth more than you think

Most tech companies are already holding insights their market would find valuable. Think about what your company already knows: what products your customers are buying and why, which industries are adopting fastest, what questions your support team hears daily. Most of that information never makes it past a quarterly report. But when those insights are pulled out and shaped into clear proof points, it becomes something journalists, analysts and AI systems can actually use.

There's a meaningful difference between "AI adoption is accelerating" and "our analysis of 500 enterprise deployments found that data readiness is the primary barrier to AI implementation." The first sounds like every other vendor in your category. The second gives analysts, buyers, journalists, and AI systems something to work with.

Recent LinkedIn research analyzing 9.5 million AI citations found that 67% of top-cited content included specific numbers including statistics, prices and timelines that made it easier to quote and summarize. AI-generated answers need material they can work with confidently. Vague claims don't make the cut.

Earned media turns insight into authority

A company can publish its own data, and it should. But when that same insight shows up in a trade article, executive interview, analyst conversation or contributed piece, it carries more weight. It is no longer just a company talking about itself.

Muck Rack's May 2026 analysis found that earned media accounts for 84% of AI citations, with journalism alone making up 27% of cited sources. That matters because AI tools appear to rely heavily on third-party sources when deciding what is credible enough to surface.

This is where PR judgment becomes a competitive advantage. The question is not just "what can we announce?" It is "what does our data help explain about the conversation happening right now?"

For example, a workforce analytics company sitting on aggregated hiring and attrition data has something valuable to offer when layoffs, return-to-office mandates or skills gaps are driving headlines, particularly if it can speak to what those trends actually look like inside organizations, not just in the broader economy. A supply chain software company can add useful perspective when tariffs, trade uncertainty or shipping delays are dominating business coverage, especially if it can speak to how those pressures are showing up in operations, costs and decision-making.

That is an advantage many tech companies overlook. Their data can help explain what is changing in the market before it becomes obvious to everyone else.

What this means for how you build campaigns

The strongest PR campaigns should start with the questions buyers and journalists are already asking, then look at what data, customer insight or executive expertise the company can use to answer them.

What do attrition rates look like in tech vs. other industries? Are companies still hiring despite announcing cuts?  How are tariffs and supply chain pressures affecting technology decisions? How is AI changing the skills companies need and the way teams work? 

Each of those questions can become more than one piece of content. It can become a media pitch, a byline, a LinkedIn post, a podcast conversation, a panel topic, a customer story or a data-led report.

That is how authority gets built now. Not through one big announcement, but through a connected body of evidence that shows up across the places people already trust.