The emergence of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has introduced substantial uncertainty about the basis of competitive advantage. Extending the behavioral theory of the firm beyond internal search and adaptation, this study examines how performance feedback shapes firms’ external strategic com- munication during a major technological discontinuity. I argue that firms performing above social aspiration levels are more likely to increase AI-related disclosure following the generative AI shock. Favorable peer-relative performance provides a credible basis for connecting current success to claims of technological readiness, managerial foresight, and future competitiveness. I further predict that this response is stronger in industries where AI was already salient before the shock. Among firms that discuss AI, I also expect above-aspiration firms to place greater relative emphasis on AI’s competitive implications. Using a panel of 10-K filings by U.S. public firms from 2017 to 2024 and an LLM-assisted text analysis approach, I find broad support for these predictions. This study extends the behavioral theory of the firm by showing that performance feedback shapes not only internal adaptation but also public communication under uncertainty. It also contributes to research on voluntary disclosure and technology framing by showing how firms use public discourse to interpret a major technological shock and position themselves in relation to it for external audiences.