The GDPR is very clear here (https://gdpr-info.eu/art-4-gdpr/). So you must have misunderstood the lawyers you talked to or you are referring about a hash that cannot identify a person. If information can be linked to a person it is considered PII of that person.
I've been told this directly by lawyers who specialize in GDPR and CCPA etc. I will take their word over yours.
If you are a lawyer with direct expertise in this area then I'm willing to listen.