'AI washing': firms are scrambling to rebrand themselves as tech-focused

UK public relations executives report that companies across low-tech industries are aggressively rebranding ordinary automation and existing technologies as "artificial intelligence" to capitalize on AI's market buzz. Communications professionals describe being pressured by clients to pitch themselves as AI specialists despite tenuous connections to the technology, with examples ranging from AI-powered basketball hoops to companies simply relabeling years-old automation as AI-driven products. The practice, dubbed "AI washing," has become so prevalent that journalists and PR workers have grown skeptical of AI-related pitches, with some professionals admitting they don't want to send out half of the AI stories they're assigned.