Public Web Data’s Vital Role in Today’s Economy

Public web data is changing the way the global economy does business, with 92% of organizations reporting that it is crucial or very important to the running of operations. The State of Public Web Data 2024, just released this week, reveals that nearly every organization uses and benefits from public web data. In fact, 9 out of 10 organizations have a plan to collect and use this data, and the majority plan to increase the budget for more of this information in the coming year.

This free and public information can be harnessed for everything from market insights to discovering new opportunities, to security and compliance. But as organizations battle to win the AI race, public web data’s critical role in building and feeding those models is clear. More than half of the people surveyed are already using public web data to build AI tools, and further, 88% say public web data is critical for the development of those models. These tools are used inside organizations for tasks like creating content or managing payroll and also for consumer-facing tasks like AI assistants or large language models.

It isn’t just organizations that come out ahead when businesses use public web data – consumers reap the benefits, too. Fifty-six percent of respondents say that public web data helps save customers money. Consumers are also more likely to be understood and their needs addressed when organizations have a strategy for public web data. For example, by leveraging this data from social media, organizations can learn about consumers’ wants, needs, and gripes.

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However, organizations are worried about the future of public web data. Shockingly, almost 3 in 4 say they are concerned that public web data will no longer be accessible in the next 5 years. While the reasons may be varied, an overwhelming majority say they are worried that large organizations and big tech hide too much of their public web data.

Bright Data commissioned independent market research specialist Vanson Bourne to survey 500 decision-makers between December 2023 and January 2024. These respondents span more than eight industries, including retail/e-commerce, banking/finance, insurance, manufacturing, media, telecommunications, business and professional services, and IT/tech. All the organizations report annual revenues ranging from at least $10 million to over $50 billion.​