Why Lookalike Signals Still Matter—But Only With Real-Time Context
Think lookalike audiences are dead? Here’s how real-time behavioral signals are reshaping targeting, making every prospect list dynamic and relevant.
The legacy of lookalikes
For years, lookalike audiences were the golden ticket in B2B marketing. Marketers would upload a list of high-value customers, feed it into an ad platform, and almost instantly get back thousands of “similar” companies or people to target. It felt like magic, and for a while, it actually worked.
But fast forward to 2025, and those lists tell a different story. They’ve become noisy, stale, and overused. Too many vendors are recycling the same old firmographics, leaving GTM teams chasing prospects who may look the part on paper but show little intent to buy.
The hard truth is this: lookalikes without real-time context are nothing more than educated guesses.
The problem with static lookalikes
Traditional lookalikes rely on broad, surface-level filters such as:
Industry
Company size
Geography
These filters are useful for narrowing down a market, but they are nowhere near enough to consistently drive pipeline. Just because two companies are both mid-market SaaS firms in New York does not mean they are equally ready to evaluate or buy your product.
This is where many GTM teams get stuck. They end up pouring budget into accounts that look right but act wrong, wasting cycles and burning ad spend.
Lookalikes that actually convert
At SalesMonk.ai, we approach lookalikes differently. Our AI agents don’t stop at building lists that resemble your current customers. Instead, they overlay real-time intent signals that separate passive lookalikes from active buyers.
Some of the signals we track include:
Hiring spikes: A new revenue ops team often means fresh tooling budgets.
Funding rounds: A capital influx typically leads to new technology investments.
Event attendance: Showing up at SaaStr, NRF, or Dreamforce is a clear signal of immediate interest.
Tech adoption shifts: Swapping out a CRM or adding new integrations indicates a readiness to explore better solutions.
When lookalike lists are combined with these behavioral signals, they stop being static spreadsheets. They become living opportunity maps that tell you not only who resembles your best customers, but who is acting like your next one.
The takeaway
Lookalikes still matter, but only when they are grounded in context and timing. Static lookalikes are yesterday’s playbook. The companies worth your time today are those who signal readiness through their actions, not just their attributes.
So stop chasing companies that only look like your customers. Start prioritizing the ones that behave like buyers. That shift is where pipeline gets created.
