Signal Intelligence vs Intent Data: What's the Difference?

"Intent data" and "signal intelligence" describe meaningfully different products.

Intent Data: Topic-Level Aggregation

Traditional intent data platforms produce a company-level intent score: "Company X is researching the topic 'CRM software' with 3x more intensity than baseline."

What you know: A company is broadly researching a topic. What you don't know: Who, exactly. What triggered it. Whether it is the CTO or an intern.

Signal Intelligence: Named Events at the Account Level

Signal intelligence platforms surface specific, verifiable events tied to a named company. A funding round. A VP of Sales hire. A Reddit thread from a frustrated customer.

What you know: Exactly what happened, at which company, and when. What you can do: Write a personalized message around the specific event.

The Timing Gap

Topic intent data often has a 1–2 week lag. Named signal intelligence surfaces events within hours of publication.