Insights

AI has become a near-universal business priority. In the fourth quarter of 2025, 68% of S&P 500 companies mentioned AI on earnings calls, more than double the share just two years earlier. But while the narrative is everywhere, the underlying transformation is not. Across companies, there is a growing disconnect between AI investment, AI storytelling and how work actually gets done.

The trust problem has changed. The tools communicators have relied on — narrative, reputation, brand consistency — were built for a different era. Today, people are living through real disruption: information is messy, change is relentless, and conflicts are out in the open. Rapid AI adoption is accelerating that pressure, and rising skepticism means audiences are actively looking under the hood. In that environment, authentic storytelling matters more than ever — but the story has to be structurally true. Trust is now a structural asset.

Reddit, once considered a niche forum, is now a critical platform for shaping reputation, surfacing information in search, and synthesizing human perspective within AI systems. Today, it influences everything from product decisions to public perception during high-profile moments to what appears in AI-generated answers. For communicators and brand leaders, that shift is too significant to be ignored. As we’ve seen with this week’s events, with the right preparation, leaders can communicate during moments of social and political tension with confidence, clarity, and speed.

Reddit, once considered a niche forum, is now a critical platform for shaping reputation, surfacing information in search, and synthesizing human perspective within AI systems. Today, it influences everything from product decisions to public perception during high-profile moments to what appears in AI-generated answers. For communicators and brand leaders, that shift is too significant to be ignored. As we’ve seen with this week’s events, with the right preparation, leaders can communicate during moments of social and political tension with confidence, clarity, and speed.

Ongoing immigration operations and two fatal shootings in Minnesota have led to outrage across the U.S., once again forcing companies and leaders to weigh whether and how they should speak out on current events after a year of largely staying silent. Organizers behind a “national shutdown” today (Jan. 30) which calls for “no school, no work and no shopping” seek to apply more pressure on businesses and institutions. As we’ve seen with this week’s events, with the right preparation, leaders can communicate during moments of social and political tension with confidence, clarity, and speed.

AI has rapidly evolved from fringe to foundational. Workers across industries who aren’t upskilling risk being “exited.” In corporate communications, AI is now a strategic partner, a shift we explore more today.

Before we break for Thanksgiving in the U.S., we’ve rounded up a few key event highlights, plus media moves and industry news.

In today’s newsletter, we’re diving into a topic we all know well: podcasts. They’ve become part of how we learn, lead and stay connected, shifting from background noise to a strategic channel for influence and engagement. In this issue, we explore how organizations are using podcasts to connect with niche audiences, deliver compelling stories, and build leader and brand visibility.

We’re introducing Crisis Frame, a strategic communications framework for high-stakes moments, designed to help organizations lead through disruption with clarity, speed and control. Today, we explore what that means in real terms.

We’re heading to Korea to once again to support the APEC CEO Summit, one of the region’s most impactful annual gatherings at the intersection of politics, business and society. Today, we take a closer look at why it matters and what we’re watching for.