Brandwatch strengthens AI leadership with deeper insights and expanded data coverage
Brandwatch, a Cision company, announced a fresh wave of AI-driven features built to help PR and communications teams move from signal to decision with less friction. The core is Iris AI - the intelligence layer woven throughout Brandwatch - built to explain why something is happening, not just what. The update makes analysis more conversational, context-aware, and practical for day-to-day workflows.
For comms leaders, the promise is simple: faster issue detection, clearer narratives for executives, and tighter measurement across channels that actually matter right now.
What's new and why it matters
- Ask Iris (AI chat assistant): Ask a plain-language question and get instant, data-backed answers without building a query or dashboard. Iris auto-generates charts, summaries, and lets you keep the conversation going to refine insights.
- AI Query Writer: Build complete Boolean queries from scratch with suggested keywords, hashtags, and subreddits to improve precision and recall.
- AI Dashboards: Convert raw data into clear narratives in seconds. Get explanations of what changed, why it changed, and where to look next.
- Expanded coverage: Now includes Threads, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, search data via Trajaan, plus 70,000+ trending podcasts with transcript analysis.
- Social media management enhancements: AI summaries for influencers, Iris AI content translations, and industry benchmarks to set performance baselines.
These additions sit on one of the broadest data foundations in the category, blending real-time and historical social and traditional media. Models are trained on real marketing and communications contexts, with transparency and control baked in.
How PR and comms teams can use this now
- Early issue detection: Use Ask Iris to spot unusual spikes, sentiment shifts, or narrative pivots. Set alerts to route risks to the right stakeholders fast.
- Executive prep in minutes: Generate concise briefs that explain what's trending, why it matters, and the likely next move. Add charts and pod clips for context.
- Campaign readouts that land: Turn dashboards into story-led summaries. Show what drove outcomes across TikTok, LinkedIn, Threads, and podcasts - not just impressions.
- Influencer due diligence: Lean on AI summaries to assess fit, tone, and past performance before outreach.
- Global and local alignment: Translate content and compare benchmarks by market to keep messaging sharp and consistent.
- Search-to-social linkage: Use Trajaan data to connect intent with conversation and plan content that matches how people actually search and talk.
Roadmap signal for 2026
- Expanded APAC data sources for stronger regional coverage.
- Bring Your Own Data integrations to blend internal and external signals.
- Smarter video and image analysis.
- New mobile app experience.
"Iris AI is becoming a true digital partner for marketers - one that explains, guides, and accelerates how teams work," said Jim Daxner, Chief Product Officer at Cision. "By combining advanced AI tools with Brandwatch's data and analytics expertise, we're enabling our customers to act faster, see further, and make smarter decisions."
Quick start playbook (week one)
- Create a watchlist of brands, execs, competitors, and priority topics. Turn on anomaly alerts.
- Ask Iris for "top narrative shifts this week" and "emerging risks by channel." Drill down by market.
- Spin up AI Dashboards for each campaign and add narrative summaries to your executive updates.
- Audit your influencer roster with AI summaries. Flag misalignments early.
- Test Iris translations on your top-performing posts to localize quickly without losing intent.
- Layer in Trajaan search data to inform messaging, FAQs, and newsroom content.
- Track podcast transcripts for mentions of your brand and execs. Capture quotes for media training.
About Brandwatch
Brandwatch is a leading suite for social media management and consumer intelligence, used by half of the Forbes 100. The platform spans consumer insights, influencer marketing, and social media management so brands and agencies can plan, act, and measure at scale. Brandwatch is part of the Cision family, alongside CisionOne and PR Newswire.
Learn more
Explore the announcement and product details at Brandwatch.com.
If you're upskilling your team on AI for comms and marketing, see practical certifications here: AI Certification for Marketing Specialists.
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