How to Write an AI Press Release That Gets Picked Up

What Makes an AI Press Release Different

An AI press release follows the same core format as any tech announcement, but it must do one extra job: make a complex model or feature legible to a general audience within the first two paragraphs. Reporters covering artificial intelligence receive dozens of pitches a week, so the release needs to signal novelty, utility, and credibility immediately. The best AI press releases lead with a concrete outcome, name the model or method involved, and explain why it matters to users or the market now.

Structure and Format

A standard AI press release uses a tight five-section structure:

• Headline: specific and outcome-focused, not vague about AI.
• Dateline and lead: the company, the announcement, and the measurable result in one or two sentences.
• Body: how the technology works at a high level, the dataset or training approach, and the performance metrics.
• Quote: from a named executive or domain expert, not a generic company statement.
• Boilerplate and contact: standard company description plus a direct media contact.

Headline Best Practices

Avoid generic phrases like "Company X Launches AI Platform." Instead, name the capability and the metric: "Company X Cuts Document Review Time by 70% With New AI Model." Journalists scan headlines for specificity. Including the model name, the industry vertical, or a clear performance number increases the chance of a pick-up. Keep the headline under 15 words and front-load the most newsworthy detail.

Explaining the Technology Without Jargon

Readers may include non-technical editors and business reporters. Define the model type in plain terms, then move to what it can do. For example, instead of saying "Our transformer-based architecture leverages self-attention layers," write "Our model reads long documents and extracts key clauses in seconds." Follow any technical summary with a concrete use case and a measurable result, such as accuracy rates, time saved, or cost reduction.

Including Metrics and Evidence

AI announcements live or die by their evidence. Include numbers: benchmark scores, customer case-study results, or third-party evaluation data. If the model was trained on a specific dataset, name the dataset and its size. Where possible, cite a known benchmark or compare the result to a standard. Transparency about limitations, such as known bias or a restricted domain, builds trust with journalists and audiences alike.

Distribution and Outreach

Distribution is not a single email blast. Use a tiered approach:

• Wire services: Business Wire or PR Newswire for broad reach, especially if the company is public or seeking investor attention.
• Targeted journalist lists: build a list of reporters who have covered AI, machine learning, or your specific industry vertical.
• Direct pitch: a short, personalized email to three to five key journalists, with the release attached and a one-sentence pitch in the body.
• Company blog and social: publish the release on your site, then share it on LinkedIn and X with a thread that expands on the results.

Timing the Release

Send AI press releases Tuesday through Thursday, early in the morning in the journalist's time zone. Avoid major industry events or competing announcements from larger players. If the news is tied to a conference, drop the release the day before or the morning of the relevant session. For a product launch, coordinate the release with a demo or a short technical blog post that gives journalists deeper material to quote.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The most frequent errors in an AI press release include: claiming general intelligence for a narrow model, using unverifiable superlatives without data, burying the lede under corporate language, and failing to provide a named contact. Avoid hype words such as "revolutionary" or "unparalleled" unless they are backed by a specific comparison. Never publish a release without a clear call to action, such as a link to a demo, a paper, or a contact for interview requests.

When to Use a Template

A template helps maintain consistency across announcements, but it should be a starting point, not a cage. Customize the headline, the metric, and the quote for every release. Journalists quickly spot template language, and a generic pitch signals low priority. Use the same structure, but make each release feel like it was written for the specific story it is trying to tell.