PR teams want AI visibility ownership, but few expect to get it

Three-quarters of PR, communications and marketing professionals say PR should own how brands show up in AI-generated answers, but only 22% expect that to happen by 2027. Onclusive’s new global survey also finds AI assistants are overtaking social platforms and search engines as a top influence on brand reputation.

Why it matters: - AI assistants are becoming a major layer of brand discovery and reputation management. - PR teams increasingly see AI visibility as part of their remit, but ownership is not matching expectations. - The gap suggests communications teams may lose influence over how brands are represented unless they build new monitoring and governance processes.

What happened: - 75% of PR, communications and marketing professionals say PR should be responsible for how brands appear in AI-generated answers. - Only 22% expect PR and communications to own AI visibility in 2027. - Onclusive published the findings in its PR, Comms & Marketing 2027 Trends Outlook. - The survey found 50% of respondents rank AI assistants among their top three influences on brand reputation in 2027. - That places AI assistants ahead of social platforms at 45% and search engines at 32%.

The details: - Only 17% say their organisation currently monitors AI visibility with a dedicated tool. - 22% of PR professionals see AI-generated content going wrong as a potential brand crisis trigger, up from 9% in last year’s research. - Among agency respondents, that figure rises to 27%, compared with 9% last year. - 10% say their organisation has no formal AI policy. - 47% expect to use AI primarily for data and insights analysis in 2027. - 44% expect AI use for writing, editing and content creation. - 36% expect AI use for research and discovery. - 50% say AI is already embedded in several team workflows or more. - 20% say they are still running pilots in selected workflows. - 28% report ad hoc individual use. - 52% of PR and communications respondents say connecting PR to revenue and business growth is a key challenge. - 48% cite proving ROI beyond vanity metrics as a challenge. - Onclusive surveyed 255 PR, communications and marketing professionals from 29 September to 20 October 2026. - The survey covered 13 markets: the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia. - The survey was conducted in English, French, Spanish and Italian. - Respondents included in-house professionals, agency practitioners, consultants and freelancers across multiple seniority levels.

Between the lines: - The survey points to a widening mismatch between strategic belief and operational readiness. - PR leaders appear to understand the reputational stakes of AI, but many organisations have not yet built the tools, policies or workflows to manage them. - Onclusive CEO Peter Harris said AI assistants are expected to become the biggest influence on brand reputation in 2027, and that earned media, journalism and authoritative sources still shape what AI platforms say about organisations. - The results also suggest reputation work is shifting from media coverage alone to visibility across AI systems, search and trusted content ecosystems.

What's next: - Communications teams will likely face more pressure to monitor AI outputs, formalise AI policies and measure business impact. - The report suggests organisations that do not adapt may struggle to explain their influence on reputation and growth. - Onclusive says the 2027 Trends Outlook is designed to track how priorities and expectations in communications and marketing are changing worldwide.

The bottom line: - PR teams see AI visibility as a core responsibility, but most organisations are still behind on the tools and governance needed to control it.