AI misuse tops reputational risks for brands, survey finds

A survey of more than 150 public affairs leaders worldwide ranks AI misuse as the top reputational threat facing brands today. The findings, released in the Global Risk Advisory Council's October 2026 Reputation Risk Index, signal that public distrust in artificial intelligence now outweighs other long-standing corporate risks, despite AI's documented gains in productivity and efficiency.

The council, which includes former heads of state and senior executives from over 20 countries, urged businesses to act quickly. Left unchecked, the report warns, AI-related incidents can inflict lasting brand damage that erodes consumer confidence faster than traditional scandals.

The five threats keeping executives up at night

Child safety risks ranked second in the survey, followed by privacy violations, unethical behavior for profit, and poor strategic decisions rounding out the top five. Earlier editions of the index had placed geopolitical risks at the forefront - notably the US-Israel war in Iran - but those concerns have since receded as AI-specific threats moved to center stage.

The shift reflects a broader recalibration inside boardrooms. Where companies once viewed AI risk as a technical or compliance problem, they now treat it as a core brand and communications challenge. One misstep involving customer data or biased automated decisions can undo years of trust-building in days.

Distrust grows despite productivity gains

The survey highlights a paradox: organizations continue to adopt AI for efficiency, yet public skepticism keeps climbing. High-profile incidents - from deepfake scams to automated hiring tools that discriminate - have trained consumers and regulators to scrutinize corporate AI use more aggressively.

The council's research does not call for slowing AI adoption. Instead, it presses companies to build governance structures, audit trails, and crisis response plans specifically designed for AI failures. The reputational cost of being unprepared, the data suggests, now exceeds the cost of moving cautiously.

Why this matters for marketing, PR, and communications professionals

For communications and marketing leaders, the findings redraw the crisis playbook. An AI-related reputation hit rarely follows the pattern of a traditional PR crisis. It often involves technical details that spokespeople struggle to explain, third-party vendors whose errors become your headline, and audiences primed to believe the worst about automated systems.

Teams that invest now in understanding how their organizations use AI - and in drafting clear, non-technical explanations for when those systems fail - will respond faster when incidents occur. Professionals looking to build that expertise can explore structured learning paths like AI PR Courses designed specifically for media relations specialists who need to bridge the gap between technical teams and public audiences.

The council's message is blunt: the window for proactive preparation is narrowing. Companies that treat AI reputation risk as a future problem will find themselves managing a present crisis without the vocabulary or relationships to contain it.