When you use the x-data directive in Alpine.js, you are telling Alpine to initialize a new reactive state for the element and all its children. The object you pass to x-data defines the initial state properties for your component. In the example above, the component has two properties: count and message. These properties can be accessed anywhere inside the element using Alpine's directives such as x-text for displaying values, x-model for binding input fields, and event handlers like @click to update them. Whenever a property changes, Alpine automatically updates the DOM wherever that property is used, keeping your interface in sync with your data.