Infrastructure Access and the Diversification of AI
Welcome to Top Conversations in Tech, where we isolate the hottest trends, falling stars and shifting market dynamics to help technology marketers maximize their relevance. This month’s data reflects news and blog citations in May 2025 versus April 2025 and May 2024. We currently monitor 270+ topics, with data and insights going back to March 2019.
Enterprise leaders shift from experimentation to execution as infrastructure access, automation, and AI control dominate media momentum.
May’s tech media trends reveal where enterprise priorities continue to shift— from headline-driven innovation to implementation at scale. Topics like #1 Bitcoin and #3 Drones saw significant gains and were up 37% and 67% respectively. However, the real signals came from mid-tier and rising conversations around access management topics (e.g., #160 Passkey, #182 Passwordless, etc.), #81 Process Automation, and #57 Private AI. While foundational enterprise topics like #5 Supply Chain and #10 User Experience declined, identity, #101 Data Governance and operational agility (e.g., #59 Enterprise Software) received renewed coverage across media.
Data governance anchored aspects of the conversation, particularly framed around ensuring high quality data, and contributed to the continued gains across #15 AI Agents and #18 Generative AI.
The Top 10
#1 Bitcoin rose to that position due to a 37% month-over-month increase and nearly 440K media mentions for a 27% year over year gain; the significant increase correlated with the news about Bitcoin’s record high of almost $112,000. #2 Artificial Intelligence held firm with more than 410K mentions, experiencing a 3% increase from April.
#3 Drones experienced a 67% MoM spike, driven by regulatory news, enterprise use cases in logistics and agriculture, and sustained military-tech coverage. #4 Compliance (Tech) held its ground buoyed by global momentum around AI oversight and responsible governance. Topics like #5 Supply Chain, #9 Smartphone and #10 User Experience declined, signaling less urgency around broad digital transformation and more focus on modernization.
Top Conversations’ Biggest Movers: Infrastructure access and AI control led the surge.
The most significant gains in May came from topics that signal what’s rising on the enterprise action plan. #81 Process Automation grew 106% month-over-month — an indicator that B2B organizations are investing in operational efficiency and resource consolidation. #51 Health Tech posted identical growth, likely fueled by post-earnings cycles and a renewed push for AI-healthcare collaborations with regulatory oversight.
Digital identity and credential management saw explosive growth in May. #160 Passkey (+97%), #181 Encryption keys (+83%), #182 Passwordless (+78%), and #127 Password manager (+77%) all ranked among the fastest risers — reflecting increased urgency around access controls, especially as organizations move deeper into artificial intelligence adoption. Notably, the first Thursday in May is World Passkey Day, which explains the relative increase for the topic. A FIDO (Fast Identity Online) survey found a noteworthy gap between awareness and usage around passkeys: 75% of those surveyed knew about passkeys but only 31% of respondents used at least one passkey. Organization news, like Microsoft’s passkey update, also contributed to the uptick in overall coverage. #191 Private AI, up 57%, further illustrates this shift toward controlled infrastructure and sensitive data protection.
Top Conversations’ Biggest Losses
On the other end, #170 Email Security dropped 40% MoM, likely reverting after an April spike tied to breach coverage. #194 Election Security and #197 Contact Tracing/Tracking each declined by more than 40%, reinforcing the pullback from episodic coverage into longer-term transformation themes as U.S. election coverage receded from the spotlight. #179 Smart building(s) and #178 Single sign-on also declined.
Identity, automation and AI governance rose as topical priorities — while episodic and consumer-adjacent topics (e.g., election security) faded from the spotlight.
May’s data showed a split across the enterprise tech conversations. Topics tied to transformation and efficiency gained momentum, while foundational and consumer-adjacent themes receded. #5 Supply chain, #26 SaaS, and #10 User experience trended downward even as enterprise leaders refocus on resilience, risk, and operational agility.
Meanwhile, governance-heavy themes like #4 Compliance (tech) and #7 Cybersecurity remained near the top, suggesting that security is no longer a separate priority — it’s central to investment conversations, from infrastructure to AI.
What to watch
Looking ahead, we expect Private AI and identity architecture to remain in the spotlight — particularly as regulatory frameworks around the world continue to evolve and draw debate. Media volume around Bitcoin and blockchain may continue to rise if investor momentum holds, but the real enterprise narratives will likely center on risk management, cost efficiency, and business alignment.
Top Takeaways
- Identity and access management (IAM) is not just a security function — it’s foundational to how modern digital systems operate, scale, and stay compliant. Growth in #160 Passkey, #182 Passwordless, and #181 Encryption keys shows that access management isn’t only a security concern but foundational to AI adoption, automation, and digital trust.
- The AI story continues to diversify with media currently focused on Private AI framing. While #2 Artificial intelligence, #15 AI Agents and #18 Generative AI dominated media volume, rising interest in #191 Private AI suggests a shift from experimentation to control.
- Operational priorities are climbing. #81 Process Automation, #97 Data Integration, and #176 Tech Debt increased, pointing to sustained enterprise investment in modernization, integration, and scalability.
Which enterprise narratives will lead in June? Will governance and automation continue their rise? Will AI coverage increase across the board, or will #191 Private AI break out as the dominant thread as organizations prioritize data privacy and compliance concerns? Stay tuned!
Check out previous installments of Top Conversations in Tech here.
