5 PR Mistakes AI Startups Must Avoid

The advent of artificial intelligence has revolutionized the world of entrepreneurship. The numbers speak for themselves: in 2023, AI startups around the world raised a staggering $50 billion in funding. And in the first quarter of 2024, they have already raised $11.4 billion, which is roughly 17% of the total funding worldwide.

Investors are definitely soft on AI, which is why it attracts huge amounts of funding even during venture capital winters: It’s no wonder that at Y Combinator Demo Day in 2024, 172 of the 247 projects were about AI.

AI Boom — From Niche to Must-Have

AI has come a long way from its appearances in science fiction and academia. What was once considered niche and impractical has grown into a huge industry. Whether it’s the voice assistants on our phones or the recommendation algorithms that help us shop online, AI is now an essential part of our daily lives.

Generative artificial intelligence has become a hot topic, thanks to user-friendly programs such as Google’s Gemini (formerly known as Bard) and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This growing popularity is due to Soaring The Gen AI market is projected to grow from $40 billion in 2022 to $1.3 trillion by 2032.

But it’s not just consumer products. In highly regulated sectors like healthcare, finance and government services, Gen AI creates unprecedented opportunities for task automation and data integration. For example, HCA Healthcare, one of the world’s largest healthcare providers, Use To speed up the process of creating medical records, financial ratings agency Moody’s roll out The company has introduced Gen AI Research Assistant to help clients uncover new insights from credit research, data and analytics.

Startups are eager to make their mark and bring innovation. TrucksunWith over 67,000 AI and machine learning projects and more established AI companies around the world, the next wave of the AI ​​enablement market is already here. AppearStartups help train, deploy, and evaluate large-scale language models, and are tackling big AI problems, from preventing hallucinations to resolving ethical dilemmas.

The big question is, how do you stand out in this sea of ​​competitors and avoid getting lost in the crowd?

Related: 4 ways to build a successful AI startup

PR pitfalls to avoid in a competitive market

Effective PR has emerged as a make-or-break factor for AI projects in a highly competitive environment. However, despite its importance, many startups fail to do so and unknowingly undermine their efforts to attract and retain customers. These are the most common mistakes startups make:

1. Put all your eggs in the product basket

Having cutting-edge technology alone is no longer enough to guarantee success. Startups tend to think that their products will sell themselves. Of course, having a great AI solution is important. But ignoring the importance of strategic promotion and brand building can lead to a costly oversight.

To gain traction, your AI project needs to take the lead in engaging with your target audience, which means reaching out to potential customers through a variety of channels, including social media, platforms like Product Hunt, and popular publications like Forbes, TechCrunch, and Entrepreneur.

But that’s not all. In a truly competitive environment, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd. Following the same old routine as everyone else won’t fully demonstrate the value of your offering. One effective way to differentiate is to grow not only your company’s brand, but also your own personal brand as a founder. Reputation is the foundation of influence and can be more influential than the product itself when it comes to attracting investors and partners.

2. Not analyzing your audience

Another common mistake that many AI startups make is forgetting to personalize their communications for different audiences. Some projects adopt a “one size fits all” approach in the hopes of capturing everyone’s attention. However, this broad strategy often leads to a diluted message and missed opportunities to connect with potential customers and investors.

Imagine a startup developing an AI-powered chatbot that aims to serve both businesses and individual users. But in its PR efforts, it only talks about creating content for individuals. It doesn’t highlight how its product can help craft marketing strategies and narratives, thereby overlooking businesses. Similarly, some AI projects may use complex jargon that only appeals to tech enthusiasts, instead of creating compelling stories that resonate with everyday users.

To avoid falling into this trap, marketers should conduct thorough research and segment their audience based on relevant criteria such as industry, demographics, pain points, etc., and tailor their PR strategies accordingly. As I mentioned in another article, think of your business like a Rubik’s cube. Just like the different colors of the cube, there are different angles you can present your company from to suit your audience. Always be ready to adapt and roll the dice.

Related: Successful PR campaigns depend on these three key elements

3. Launching PR campaigns prematurely

Timing is everything when it comes to PR. Starting too early may do more harm than good. In fact, it’s a common mistake to launch a media campaign when a startup is still in the early MVP stages, as it often doesn’t meet clients’ and investors’ expectations. As a PR specialist, I often see companies struggling to give me answers about their activities, even if it’s for their own benefit. Journalists, partners, investors and end users all have different goals and criteria, which makes them much harder to satisfy.

Let’s take an example. Recently, Krutrim AI launched the beta version of its long-awaited LLM and AI assistant similar to ChatGPT, but with a focus on Indian culture. Soon, the AI ​​chatbot Faced From general questions to translations, math problems, and logical reasoning, users have criticized the bot for finding inaccuracies in its answers. Claimed It will be built by OpenAI, and the company blames these issues on problems with the training dataset.

Krutrim’s founders have a proven track record and have already built two unicorns in India – Ola Cabs and Ola Electric. There is a good chance that the company will improve its model and address the concerns raised. However, this may not be the case for smaller AI startups. It would be better to wait to start working on PR until a solid foundation is built with a clear positioning, reliable processes, and ideally visible results.

4. Overhyped and underwhelming

In the race to attract attention and secure funding, some AI startups tend to oversell their products and capabilities and make big promises that are not backed up by reality, which often leads to disappointment for customers, investors, and stakeholders when the startups fail to live up to the hype.

Last year, Inflection AI was backed by big names like Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, and NVIDIA, and successfully raised over $1 billion at a $4 billion valuation. Inflection’s flagship product was Pi, an AI chatbot designed to provide emotional support and advice to consumers. But now, Swirl The startup would abandon the Pi less than a year after launch, apparently because the company hadn’t delivered on its promises.

Sometimes it may be better to take a more measured and transparent approach to communication. Focus on highlighting actual achievements and milestones rather than making grandiose claims. Being honest and forthright can help startups build trust with their audiences and investors, ensuring a path to more sustainable success.

5. Ignoring AI ethics and data privacy

In an AI-driven world, ethics and data privacy are more important than ever. Israel AI Ethics AssociationWe partner with researchers, developers, policymakers and everyday users to deliver responsible innovation.

Unfortunately, not all AI startups pay enough attention to these concerns in their PR efforts. This oversight can lead to serious repercussions, including reputational damage and legal troubles. Missteps, such as mishandling personal data or failing to address ethical implications, can alienate potential customers.

Take OpenAI, which is currently facing legal issues. The New York Times Sued You may also be sued for copyright infringement. transaction Lawsuits are piling up from authors, artists, music labels and others. Assert The company allegedly improperly obtained large amounts of personal data, including medical records and information about minors, to train its ChatGPT model.

To avoid these risks, compliance and ethical behavior must be a top priority in any AI project. Adhering to guidelines and demonstrating a commitment to responsible AI development is one of the key factors for long-term success in a complex AI environment.

Related: What does it take to build truly ethical AI? These 3 tips can help.

Looking to the future

AI startups may face tougher times assignment For the foreseeable future, some industry leaders are beginning to question whether the industry is over-hyped, with only a handful of companies being able to build profitable businesses. In uncertain times, effective PR can be the deciding factor between success and failure.

By avoiding common pitfalls and adopting a strategic promotion strategy, AI startups can increase their visibility, attract both customers and investors, and ultimately gain a competitive advantage in the market. Ultimately, it’s all about showing the world what sets you and your AI solution apart.