By any measure, 2023 was Generative AI’s breakout year. The explosive growth of tools that allowed people to communicate and create with chatbots ushered in a new shared vocabulary of LLMs and inference and natural-language processing.
Even by technology industry standards, the fanfare around generative AI was astounding. Crunchbase reported that Generative AI and AI-related startups raised nearly $50 billion in 2023, with AI startups attracting about one out of every three dollars invested in the U.S. last year.
The intense buzz around generative AI has created a new challenge for companies: If nearly every company is an AI company or claims to use AI in its business, how do you stand out from the crowd? How do you promote your company and its products without falling into the trap of hype?
The key lies in building credibility and demonstrating real-world expertise. A public relations program that combines media relations, true thought leadership and trendjacking can set your company apart from the competition.
Establish Trust and Authority
Now that nearly everyone has seen an AI-generated image or video or read some AI-generated text, the initial curiosity about the technology has faded. It’s time to offer real-world examples that demonstrate the value your product or service offers with quantifiable technical benefits such as time savings and business benefits such as cost savings and ROI.
Do you have researchers, data scientists, mathematicians and engineers solely focused on AI? Highlighting the strength and academic roots of your team is an important part of your company’s story. It’s also important at this point to lean into good intentions and transparency. Explain the results your AI will discover and offer a step-by-step explanation of what is being done, what data is being used, how much data is being used and how the results will get refined over time.
Thought leadership, through contributed articles placed by a PR agency in publications relevant to your target audience, allows your company to further establish itself as an expert in AI. A strong, strategically positioned message can generate leads and provide ongoing opportunities for media coverage.
Become a Part of the News
The news moves fast, and sometimes you have to seize the opportunity to raise your company’s awareness by becoming part of that news. A PR team will review ongoing happenings within your company and match them with timely stories being written about in the press. This is what Treble calls trendjacking. Trendjacking provides consistent messaging and conversations between your company and the media during quiet periods of company announcements.
Answering open commentary requests can often lead to long-lasting relationships with journalists and their publications, creating opportunities for bylined articles and podcast appearances, among other media coverage.
Tell a Great Story
Your target audiences — customers, investors, partners and more — will want to know why your AI company is worth their attention. Storytelling is a powerful way to elevate your message above complex technical details and jargon and wrap it in a narrative that resonates with stakeholders and conveys your company’s unique positive impacts.
You’ll be tempted to lead with technical specs, but unless they’re truly game-changing, you’re better off explaining how your AI technology can improve people’s lives and work. Think about the problem you’re solving and why it hasn’t been solved yet. After you’ve grounded your story with practical benefits, explained how it works and answered criticisms, it’s time to share an inspiring vision for the future. Talk about how AI can expand our potential while still being thoughtfully guided by the people building it.
To create continued interest in your company and product, a PR agency will map out a campaign strategy to support these stories to ensure media outreach efforts go hand-in-hand with other company news. The strategy aligns with your overall marketing and business strategy to meet your goals.
Find the Right PR Partner
As the fascination with AI persists, the need for a trusted PR guide remains paramount, helping companies cut through the noise and bring their transformative technologies to the forefront of public attention. Navigating the fast-moving and hype-filled landscape of AI requires a PR agency that will prioritize your account with actionable strategies to timely integrate your company's perspective into the news cycle.
To elevate your company’s profile, look for agencies whose senior team members have deep AI industry experience and established relationships with key media members. The ideal PR agency acts as an extension of your sales and marketing team with an eye on supporting your business goals.
To learn more, contact newbiz@treblepr.com.