AI Platforms: The New Stakeholder Redefining Brand Reputation

World is rapidly adopting AI. CEOs are well aware of its importance. But when it comes to Reputation management, companies are still happy to walk the traditional paths like issuing a Press release or organising an interview / press conference. Then day dream that a miracle will ensure front-page Print coverage in Economic Times and Times of India. Most of the CEOs only wants these two newspapers and maybe if you want a better increment, just add CNBC. That’s it. By the way, the news can be as idiotic as possible.

A few months back, during an interaction with IIM Ahmedabad students, one question stood out:
“Earlier we used to source information from Google, but now with ChatGPT and Gemini how can we influence these platforms and manage brand reputation? How do they source information?”

Last week, the same questions were asked by delegates at the India-Dubai Investment Meet in Mumbai. From classroom to boardroom, the area of discussion is the same. While AI is shaping perceptions in today’s world, how do we adopt and manage it to build our brand?

Today, more and more stakeholders are using AI platform to learn about your brand. From investor, media, bureaucrats to customer, the first impression they form about your company, increasingly comes from AI published content.

A 2024 study confirms that generative AI summaries significantly influence user attitudes and trust, often more than traditional digital content. When Google shows an AI-generated summary at the top of search results, most users don't click on additional web links, they often feel the summary is enough.

This means that AI is now your New Stakeholder. It can build / destroy brand reputation by sourcing, interpretating and aggregating narratives from your digital ecosystem. It aggregates and interprets brand narratives from millions of touchpoints that includes both official sources and third-party discussions, customer reviews and open forums. Before publishing, majorly it sources content from websites, publications, news outlets, analyst reports, YouTube, Reddit, and Wikipedia. However, the way it prioritises information differs sharply across ChatGPT, Gemini, and other leading AI platforms.

So, while you cannot control AI, but you can definitely shape the ecosystem that trains AI. In the AI-powered world, your brand is not just what you say but also what AI chooses to publish. So, move beyond your traditional PR route and strategically integrate PESO (Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned) model in your communication strategy.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.