The New Reputation Reality: 3 Takeaways from PR Week’s Crisis Communications Conference

By: Joe Buckle, Senior Account Manager in Porter Novelli’s UK Corporate Team

Today’s PR crises look fundamentally different from than anything we have navigated before. For brands, the margin for error during a response has never been thinner.

Against this backdrop, I attended PR Week’s Crisis Communication Conference, hearing from some of the industry’s leading voices on the new reputation reality for brands in 2026. The consensus was clear: brands are under more pressure than ever to communicate with sensitivity and authenticity in an increasingly volatile media landscape.

Here are three takeaways for brands looking to fortify their crisis strategies today.

AI Summaries Are a New Hotbed for Disinformation

Search behaviour has shifted as AI-generated summaries are now presented to audiences when they search for information. This creates a new challenge for brands in the heat of a crisis, as snapshot summaries are vulnerable to over-simplification and the amplifying of wrong information. Because AI still struggles to exercise judgment in the way that a human does, it often fails to capture the nuance required in sensitive situations.

Brands must factor this into their crisis strategies. The fractured media landscape and AI summaries are now primary reputation threats, creating an urgency to prevent information voids, which inevitably can be filled with incorrect assumptions.

Knowing the ‘Why’ Behind Your Voice is More Important Than Ever

In the midst of a crisis, teams instinctively ask, “Can we get a line on this?” However, the panel at the conference emphasised a more fundamental question: why your brand is commenting at all?

The answer cannot stem from fear of silence, or a desire to follow the crowd. To be effective, the response must come from a credible voice and an authentic position that resonates. Audiences can see through performative responses. Brands must align internally on an authentic, purposeful ‘why’ before they draft anything.

There’s No Way of Going “Back to Normal” After a Crisis in the AI Era

Many organisations mistakenly assume they can return to normal once the news cycle fades. The reality is that downplaying the impact of a crisis rarely works in an era where audiences have long memories and digital receipts.

Instead of hoping a crisis will blow over and be forgotten, leadership must focus on what’s next: how the brand intends to show up from that point forward. Organizations must reflect, make any necessary internal changes, and ensure they emerge stronger and more transparent as a result.

So, What Does This All Mean?

In an era where AI summaries are the first thing audiences see when they search online, PR crises demand a different playbook. The climate is defined by noise, and the only way for brands to truly resonate in the eye of a storm is to lead with a clear, principled voice.

The most effective way to safeguard a reputation today is through authenticity. For brands, this means that showing up with honesty needs to be something they are doing each and every day, not just as part of their crisis communications strategy.