'AI Startup' Pitches Fall Flat as Media Interest Shifts Toward Evidence and Outcomes

Once a reliable hook for media attention, "AI" as a PR buzzword has been losing its prestige since late 2023. Reporters today are flooded with AI-labeled pitches, many of them so vague and unsubstantiated that the "AI startup" label now raises more suspicion than it does curiosity. It’s not enough to state you’re an AI company. To beat the credibility gap, you have to prove you’re delivering real results.

Navigating this new environment calls for a more sophisticated approach, says Evgenia Zaslavskaya, an award-winning public relations and communications strategist. Zaslavskaya, Founder of ZECOMMS Agency, was named "Best Leader in Public Relations and Communications" at the 2025 Davos Communications Awards. She is on the front lines of this AI downward trend, guiding companies away from exhausted buzzwords and toward genuine newsworthiness.

"In my experience, and from feedback we get from journalists, there’s real fatigue around the constant flow of 'AI startup' announcements," Zaslavskaya warns founders. She says the solution lies in a return to "Creative PR," a strategy built on a product’s relevance and substance. With the "AI startup" label losing its meaning in media circles, gaining journalists’ interest is now about proving your technology’s real-life outcomes.

• All hook, no bite: "AI isn’t a niche anymore," Zaslavskaya reminds tech founders. "That’s exactly why it doesn’t work as a hook." After years of companies rolling out AI systems, journalists now want to report on how the technology is reshaping businesses and life. She’s learned that "if you can’t show numbers, impact, or proof, AI won’t save the pitch."

Zaslavskaya says unless you’re an industry giant or "unicorn" with massive scale, you likely won’t make much headway with media by leaning on the AI label. Instead, she offers a simple reframe for more fortified pitches: lead with the data, not the technology.

• Insights as narrative anchor: One of Zaslavskaya’s clients works in the climate tech space. For a recent pitch, she advised ditching the AI angle and leading with their high-value forecasting capability. This approach reframes their narrative around tangible outcomes like weather patterns and climate statistics. "When we look at startups in our portfolio, I think most of them could be called AI startups. But AI is only one part of what they do," she says. By focusing on what the tool actually accomplishes, companies can demonstrate their value.

The pivot to "Creative PR" is a direct response to the significant economic pressures on the media industry. As newsrooms shrink and inboxes overflow, formulaic pitching is less likely to break through. This means PR professionals need to think beyond a single channel.

• Build multi-pronged strategies: With publishers under pressure from both AI saturation and the creator economy, relying on a single channel no longer works. Zaslavskaya urges teams to design outreach that can enter from multiple directions, not just traditional media. "Media is only one door. A strong strategy looks like a house with many openings. There’s the front door, but there are also windows, a backyard, and side entrances," she says, pointing to podcasts, creator platforms, LinkedIn, Substack, and other direct-to-audience channels as essential complements to media relations.

• Taming the tools: The demand for human-led strategy also applies to a PR team’s internal workflow. Zaslavskaya notes that using AI as a shortcut can be a costly error, even as many PR professionals adopt the technology. "ChatGPT is like riding a horse: if you don’t control the horse, it will control you," she shares. "If you overuse it, journalists can often spot the output and understand that it’s just lazy work."

Today’s media landscape is complicated, but Zaslavskaya sees new rules as opportunities for those who know how to navigate it. "Media is only one door," she emphasizes. "There are many ways to reach your audience now."