Five Reputation Shifts That Will Define 2026

Reputation is no longer forgiving. Stakeholders are forming opinions faster, trust is harder to earn, and inconsistency in corporate communications carries greater risk than ever before. As a result, the reputation landscape is becoming more complex and more visible.

As Laurence Stellings, SVP, Head of Advisory (EMEA & APAC), said, “this is the moment communicators are being asked not just to respond, but to lead.” Drawing on this perspective, Stellings and RepTrak’s advisory team have identified five key reputation trends shaping strategy for the year ahead (paired with an actionable analysis of RepTrak data) to help you align business objectives with stakeholder sentiment.

1. AI as a Stakeholder: From Concept to Everyday Tool

2. Economic Complexity: Strong Markets, Strained Households

3. Positive Societal Impact: Doing Good Without the Labels

4. Visible Leadership: The Right Voice, at the Right Moment

5. Focus, Consistency, Quality: Doing Less — Better

AI as a Stakeholder: From Concept to Everyday Tool

AI has shifted from an abstract concept to a tool that stakeholders actively use to learn about your company and compare it to competitors. In 2025, stakeholder perceptions of AI matured significantly, with fewer neutral observers and more people forming concrete views — both positive and negative.

Rather than assessing AI hypothetically, stakeholders are now judging it on performance: how useful the information is, how accurately it represents companies, and whether it can be trusted. As familiarity grows, uncertainty is declining, and opinions are forming faster and with greater confidence.

RepTrak data notes this shift: perceptions that AI makes my life easier increased by 4.6% between Q3 2024 to Q4 2025, alongside a 2.8% increase in the belief that AI has a negative impact on society. Fewer stakeholders now sit on the fence. Instead, they are forming more defined opinions as AI becomes embedded in everyday experiences.

Because of this shift, Stellings notes, “communications teams are telling us that influencing what AI models say about their companies is now a top priority.” As more stakeholders turn to AI to research companies, AI increasingly shapes how brands are understood, compared, and trusted.

In 2026, the opportunity for communicators is to manage AI intentionally as a reputation-shaping force. Organizations that treat AI as a true stakeholder — monitoring how it represents them and aligning their narratives accordingly — will be better positioned to convert curiosity into confidence, protect trust, and compete in an environment where reputation is increasingly formed through AI-mediated experiences.

RepTrak's AI as a Stakeholder™ tool recognizes AI as an active player in corporate reputation, shaping how organizations are understood and trusted. Using RepTrak’s proven reputation framework, AI as a Stakeholder measures how leading AI systems perceive and represent your organization — revealing where AI-generated narratives strengthen credibility or introduce risk, and provides clear, data-backed direction to align those narratives with your reputation goals.

Economic Complexity: Strong Markets, Strained Households

The forecast for 2026 is looking to be riddled with economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and stakeholder perceptions will reflect that complexity. While some individual markets are holding up in terms of economic momentum and performance, confidence drops when people consider the broader, global economic picture.

As Stellings explained, “by some measures, markets are performing exceptionally well. At the same time, layoffs, downsizing, and cost pressures are very real for many households.” That divergence is mirrored in the data: 32% of stakeholders expect their personal finances to improve, yet 43% believe the national economy will get worse, rising to 45% when looking at the global economy.

This disconnect creates a challenging communications environment. Consumers are relatively optimistic about their own situations, but far less confident in the economic direction of the countries and systems around them. At the same time, value enters 2026 as the second most important Driver Factor*, raising the stakes for how companies talk about pricing, performance, and growth.

*RepTrak measures value as Factor that falls under our Products and Services Driver — one of seven Reputation Drivers that provides tangible rationale for how stakeholders form opinions about specific areas of a company’s business.

For communicators, the challenge in 2026 is one of dexterity. Companies must balance positive updates to investors with messages that resonate with cost-sensitive consumers and workforces navigating uncertainty. Value-for-money messaging will matter more than ever — but in a strained economic climate, it cannot afford to sound tone deaf.

Positive Societal Impact: Doing Good Without the Labels

In 2026, many companies are stepping back from explicit references to ESG and DEI — but stakeholder expectations around responsible business have not disappeared.

What’s changing is how companies show it. Stakeholders’ strongest responses are to practical, tangible contributions that feel authentic and close to home. 52% say being an employer of choice (offering good wages, attractive conditions, and training) is the strongest signal of positive impact, followed by 45% who value equal opportunity in the workplace, and 44% who look for visible support of local communities.

While Workplace as a Reputation Driver carries lower direct importance overall, jobs, pay, and working conditions are emerging as both politically safer and reputationally effective ways for companies to demonstrate social value. Treating suppliers fairly (43%) and maintaining strong governance around ethics, cybersecurity, and data privacy (41%) further reinforce credibility, especially in an environment where trust is under pressure.

This year, move away from abstract commitments and instead clearly articulate how your organization contributes to people’s lives, communities, and economies. As support for buying local and contributing to the broader economy continues to grow, companies that define a practical, credible role in society will be better positioned to earn favor without needing to rely on labels that no longer resonate.

Visible Leadership: The Right Voice, at the Right Moment

During the pandemic, CEOs stepped into the spotlight, providing visibility, reassurance, and direction at a moment of profound uncertainty. While many leaders pulled back in the years that followed, stakeholder expectations for openness and presence remained elevated.

As Stellings observes “stakeholders had grown accustomed to direct, transparent leadership, and those expectations didn’t disappear.” In fact, the belief that company leaders are strong and appealing* increased by +1.1 points in 2025, signaling renewed confidence when leadership shows up effectively.

*RepTrak, measures strong and appealing leadership as a Factor that falls under one of our seven Reputation Drivers, Leadership.

The data is clear about where that visibility matters most. 48% of stakeholders say they want to hear directly from CEOs about company vision, significantly more than from any other C-suite leader or spokesperson. When leaders communicate proactively and credibly, they can help set the external agenda — reinforcing clarity, confidence, and trust.

The opportunity in 2026 is not more leadership commentary, it’s better leadership communication. Supporting CEOs to speak clearly on vision and strategy, while knowing when not to engage, will be essential to building trust and protecting reputation in an increasingly polarized environment.

Focus, Consistency, and Quality: Doing Less — Better

As with every function, communications teams are entering 2026 under tighter budgets and increased pressure to demonstrate business impact. In response, many teams are rethinking not just what they say, but how often and to whom.

That shift is already visible in how organizations operate. Companies are pushing to centralize and streamline communications, repeating key messages more often, and aligning closely around shared priorities. These practices are becoming hallmarks of effective reputation management.

At the same time, teams are increasingly embracing AI to improve efficiency and scale, while recognizing the growing risk of putting out low-quality, generic content. The opportunity in 2026 is not simply to produce more, but to use AI thoughtfully, strengthen human connection, and maintain the standards that protect trust.

For communicators, focus, consistency, and quality are no longer nice-to-haves. They are the discipline required to ensure messages land, narratives stick, and reputation efforts translate into real business outcomes.

Taken together, these five trends point to a clear reality: 2026 will reward communicators who bring focus to complexity and confidence to change. Whether managing AI as a new stakeholder, navigating economic tension, or doing less with greater discipline, reputation success will hinge on intentional choices.

The organizations that find success in 2026 will be those that understand where perceptions are formed, which voices carry trust, and how to consistently translate insight into action. Reputation leadership is about saying the right things, in the right moments, with clarity and conviction.

Take the next step with RepTrak Advisory. Our global team of reputation experts partner with you to translate stakeholder data into clear, market-specific action — aligning insight with strategy so you can protect favor, strengthen performance, and lead with confidence.