Short answerAI companies buy data that shows how work gets done: SOPs, knowledge bases, CRM and pipeline history, support tickets and escalation rules, QA processes, project histories, records of team decisions, and human feedback on AI outputs (micro1). They want connected workflows, not raw volume.
The full list
| Data type | Examples | Why AI labs want it |
|---|---|---|
| SOPs and playbooks | Refund policy, onboarding steps, escalation rules | Shows the intended process |
| Knowledge bases | Help centers, internal wikis, macros | Domain knowledge agents must use |
| CRM history | Deal stages, activities, notes metadata | How decisions move over time |
| Support tickets | Ticket threads, tags, resolutions | Real cases with real exceptions |
| QA processes | Scorecards, reviewer notes, rubrics | What "good work" looks like |
| Project histories | Plans, tickets, retrospectives | Multi-step work with outcomes |
| Decision records | Approvals, reviews, meeting notes | How judgment calls get made |
| Internal communications | Slack, email (heavily redacted) | Coordination between people |
| Finance workflows | Reconciliations, approvals, close checklists | Precise, rule-heavy processes |
| AI feedback | Your team grading AI outputs | Directly improves model behavior |
Why connected data is worth more
A support ticket alone is a snapshot. The ticket plus the SOP that governed it, the QA score it received and the final outcome is a complete lesson. AI labs are building agents that do multi-step work, and micro1 turns this kind of data into simulated environments where agents practice real workflows (The Next Web).
Evidence from real deals
- Shuttered startups have sold Slack messages, emails and Jira tickets to AI labs. Cielo24 sold its archive for "hundreds of thousands of dollars" (Fast Company).
- HVAC companies were paid $150,000 for their data (The Information).
What they usually don't want
- Raw customer lists or marketing databases
- Public content already on the internet
- Regulated personal data, like patient records
- Non-English documents (for now)
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Frequently asked questions
What kind of business data do AI companies pay for?
SOPs, knowledge bases, CRM history, support tickets, QA processes, project histories, decision records and human feedback on AI outputs.
Do AI companies buy customer lists?
Generally no. They want records of how work gets done, not marketing data. Customer personal data is typically removed.