What is intent data?

Intent data is a record of who is researching a topic right now. In B2B sales it shows which people and companies are reading about the problem your product solves, so you can reach them while they're still deciding, before they've filled in a form or booked a demo with someone else.

A cold list tells you who could buy. Intent data tells you who is looking. That difference is why teams that use it see higher reply rates on the same number of emails and calls.

How intent data works

Every time someone reads an article, compares products or searches for a fix, they leave a signal. Intent data providers collect those signals, link them to a person or a company, and group them into topics such as "payroll software", "roof replacement" or "SOC 2 compliance".

A topic only counts as intent when the reading is unusual for that person or company. One article is noise. A cluster of reading on one topic in a short window, above the normal level, is a buying signal. Most providers turn that into a score, often split into bands such as low, medium and high.

There are three kinds of intent data:

• First-party intent comes from your own channels: the pages people view on your website, the emails they open, the trials they start. It's the strongest signal, but you only see people who already found you.
• Third-party intent comes from reading across the wider web: publisher networks, review sites and other content sources. It shows people researching your category before they've heard of you.
• Search and engagement intent comes from what people search for and interact with, such as ads and comparison pages.

Company-level versus person-level intent

Most older intent products are account-based. They tell you that a company is "surging" on a topic, then leave you to work out who inside it is doing the research. You still need a contact database, and you still guess which of the 40 people in the marketing team to email. Even sales platforms that bundle intent with contacts often work this way: Apollo's help center says the people its intent filter surfaces work at companies showing intent but "may not be the individuals conducting the research" (more in our Apollo pricing breakdown).

Person-level intent names the people. Instead of "Acme Corp is researching payroll software", you get the operations director who read about it this week, with a business email and a mobile. That's what Intent Leads delivers: decision-makers researching your topics, with a way to reach them.

What intent data is used for

1. Outbound prospecting. Email and call the people researching your topics this week instead of cold lists. Lead the message with the problem they're reading about.
2. Prioritizing accounts. Put sales time on accounts that show up researching, and keep the rest in nurture.
3. Timing. People drop out of an intent window after about two weeks. Reaching them inside it means you arrive while the problem is top of mind.
4. Ads and retargeting. Upload intent audiences to LinkedIn, Meta or Google so your ads reach the people researching right now.
5. Agency lead generation. Agencies run intent lanes per client and hand over fresh, relevant leads every week.

How to choose topics

Good topics describe the problem or the category your buyers research, in their words. Not your brand name, and not a feature only you have.

• Name the problem: "employee turnover", "cash flow forecasting", "cold email deliverability".
• Name the category: "applicant tracking system", "commercial roofing", "managed IT services".
• Name the competitor category, not the competitor: "CRM software" rather than one vendor's name.
• Add 5–20 topics per product, then cut the ones whose people don't reply.

Pair topics with filters for who you sell to: industry, company size, job titles and seniority, or your own list of target companies. Intent without filters finds students and researchers too.

What intent data costs

Account-based intent platforms are usually sold on annual contracts, often in the tens of thousands of dollars a year, and they still need a separate contact database. Contact databases are often sold the same way: our ZoomInfo pricing breakdown works out what that means per contact. Person-level intent with contact details is usually priced per lead.

Intent Leads charges per person delivered, from a prepaid balance: 10¢ each for the first 2,500 people a month, falling to 5¢ above 20,000. Counts, samples and quotes are free, and nobody you've already exported this month is charged again. See pricing for the full bands.

How to judge an intent data provider

• Does it name people, or only companies? If only companies, budget for a contact database and the time to match them.
• How fresh is it? Ask how many days old the signals are. Intent goes stale in about two weeks.
• Can you choose your own topics in your own words, or only from a fixed list?
• What contact details come with each lead? Business email with validation, mobile, LinkedIn.
• Can you see counts before paying? You should know how many people match before you buy.
• Are you charged twice for the same person? Repeat exports should leave out people you already have.

Frequently asked questions

Is intent data accurate?

Intent data is a probability, not a guarantee. A person reading heavily about a topic is far more likely to be in market than a random contact, but not everyone researching will buy. Treat it as a way to rank and time outreach, and judge it by reply and meeting rates compared with your cold lists.

Is intent data legal to use?

Yes, in the US, when it's collected and used under the privacy laws that apply, such as the CCPA, and when your outreach follows the CAN-SPAM Act and the TCPA for calls and texts. Intent Leads covers people in the US only, and honors removal requests. Check the rules for your own channels and region.

What's the difference between intent data and a lead list?

A lead list is everyone who fits your filters, whether they're looking or not. Intent data narrows that to the people actively researching your topics now. Many teams use both: Search for full market coverage and Intent for who to call first.

How quickly can I get intent leads?

In Intent Leads, a new topic is usually approved within a day, and people start showing up 2 to 4 days after it goes live. Counts grow daily until the 14-day window fills.