For listed companies, the stakeholder map is expanding again. Alongside investors, regulators, journalists and employees, there is now another increasingly influential audience shaping corporate reputation: AI.
Large language models such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, as well as Microsoft’s Copilot, are rapidly becoming intermediaries between companies and their stakeholders. Investors are asking AI tools for investment summaries. Journalists are using them for background research. Potential employees are querying corporate culture and leadership credibility. Customers are seeking instant explanations of products, controversies and financial performance.
In practice, this means AI is no longer just a productivity tool. It is becoming a gatekeeper of corporate perception.
That shift has significant implications for PLC communications strategies. Historically, companies optimised their communications for humans and search engines. Increasingly, they must also optimise for generative AI engines; a discipline now commonly referred to as Generative Engine Optimisation (‘GEO’). Recent research suggests AI search platforms disproportionately favour authoritative earned media and machine-readable content when generating responses.
As Nick Barron, Deputy CEO, explains: “AI models are quickly becoming an influential interpreter of corporate reputation. If your company narrative is fragmented, outdated or overly reliant on legacy disclosure formats, AI systems may not reflect the business fairly or accurately.”
For PLCs, the challenge is not simply visibility. It is ensuring that AI-generated summaries reflect the strategic positioning, operational progress and reputation a company has worked hard to build.
This requires a more deliberate approach to both earned and owned content.
Earned media remains critical because AI models place significant weight on third-party validation. High-quality coverage in trusted financial, sector and national media can materially influence how companies are represented in AI-generated responses. Executive profiling, thought leadership, analyst commentary and expert interviews are therefore becoming increasingly important components of reputation management from a GEO perspective.
But owned content matters too, and particularly content structured in ways AI systems can easily interpret and reference. Dense PDFs and compliance-heavy language are less effective than clear, well-structured, consistently updated dynamic digital content. Investor case studies, thematic explainers, Q&As, leadership commentary and issue-specific landing pages can all improve AI comprehension of a company’s narrative.
Nisa Bayindir, Head of Data & Insights, recommends that “companies should think about AI platforms as a new stakeholder audience. The most effective communications strategies are now being designed not just for human readability, but for machine interpretability too.”
There are several practical steps PLCs can adopt immediately:
To help companies navigate this shift, our Maiven GEO offering analyses and enhances how AI platforms present brands, businesses and corporate narratives. The proposition combines GEO analysis with social and audience insight to better understand the questions stakeholders are asking, and the answers AI platforms are providing.
The communications landscape has always evolved alongside changes in information consumption. Today, AI is becoming one of the most influential interpreters of corporate reputation. For PLCs, ensuring that AI systems understand and accurately represent the business may soon become as important as traditional media relations or investor engagement itself.
