The AI Revolution PR Leaders Can't Ignore: Why Traditional Reputation Management Is Obsolete

Press Release
Fore Immediate Release - AEOVOX

The AI Revolution PR Leaders Can't Ignore: Why Traditional Reputation Management Is Obsolete
AEOVOX Founder Carrick Graham Warns Industry That PR ROI Crisis Is About to Worsen-And How to Prevent It

New Zealand, 26 January 2026 - In a critical moment for communications leaders worldwide, Carrick Graham, founder of AEOVOX and Chair of the New Zealand Brazil Business Chamber, has published a comprehensive analysis of why traditional reputation management frameworks are becoming obsolete in the age of AI answer engines-and what boards must do immediately to protect their reputational standing.

The warning comes as 70% of PR budgets face stagnation or cuts, and 34.7% of PR professionals admit they cannot align their metrics with actual business outcomes.

The Problem: PR Measurement Is Broken

For 25 years, Graham has managed reputations across contested sectors including finance, crisis communications, and board-level governance. His assessment is unambiguous: The industry is measuring the wrong things.

"We measure impressions, media mentions, and advertising value equivalency-metrics so discredited that AMEC abandoned them years ago," Graham states. "Yet most PR teams still lead with them. Meanwhile, CFOs and boards ask one question every budget cycle: 'What's our return?' And most of us can't answer it with confidence."

The measurement crisis directly explains why PR budgets are shrinking despite-or because of-their inability to prove business impact.

The Real Revolution: AI Answer Engines Control Reputation Now

But measurement is only half the problem. The larger issue is structural: The media landscape most PR teams optimise for no longer exists.

Newsrooms have shrunk. Independent creators now command audiences rivalling legacy outlets. Traditional media placements are no longer the pinnacle of earned media.

Meanwhile, a parallel reputation battle is unfolding in AI systems that most communicators haven't noticed.

"48.4% of New Zealanders are already using ChatGPT," Graham notes. "By 2027, over 90 million Americans will primarily use generative AI for online research. Your target audiences aren't reading press releases. They're asking ChatGPT: 'Who are the leaders in this space?' 'What's the governance risk here?' 'Which firms have a track record in crisis management?'"

And AI is answering based on what it finds, synthesises, and trusts.

When a board director is evaluated during due diligence, investors don't Google them-they query Perplexity. When regulators assess governance posture, they don't read annual reports alone-they ask Google AI Overviews. When talent prospects evaluate culture, they don't scroll LinkedIn-they ask ChatGPT what the internet says about the organisation.

In each scenario, AI is making a credibility decision based on what it finds. If an organisation has no strategy to control that decision, it has no control over its reputation where it matters most.

Introducing AEO: The Discipline Boards Don't Know They Need

AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) is the systematic approach to ensuring that when AI systems answer questions about an organisation, its leaders, and its issues, they deliver accurate, balanced, strategically aligned information.

Unlike traditional online reputation management-which focuses on search results, reviews, and social media-AEO works at the level of how AI comprehends, prioritises, and summarises your story.

"It combines issues management, corporate affairs, and crisis communications with structured content strategy," Graham explains. "The goal is to build a clear, evidence-based, machine-readable record that AI systems can understand and cite with confidence."

The stakes are highest for regulated sectors (finance, healthcare, education, food), public-facing organisations managing legacy controversies, and any board where individual directors' reputations influence stakeholder decisions.

The Three Reputational Risks Most Organisations Miss

Legacy Dominance: Old controversies, settled disputes, and historical crises still dominate AI summaries because they generated high-authority content (news, court filings, regulatory decisions) whilst resolutions were quiet, confined to corporate websites.

Narrative Loss: If competitors or critics have more structured, consistent messaging, their version becomes the default "truth" in AI responses.

Accuracy Gaps: AI conflates entities, misses key context, or misframes positions because available information is scattered, contradictory, or incomplete.

For boards in small markets like New Zealand, the personal reputational fallout is particularly acute. Career damage becomes public and permanent.

What Boards Actually Need Now

Graham recommends a four-step framework:
1. Audit current AI visibility. What does ChatGPT actually say about the organisation? What gaps exist? What risks are embedded?
2. Build structured narrative. Document the factual record, strategic position, and resolution of past issues in ways AI systems can parse and cite.
3. Create authority signals. Establish trusted third-party validation through earned media, thought leadership, and expert commentary that AI systems recognise as credible.
4. Monitor continuously. Crises don't start with headlines-they start with what AI is learning. Real-time monitoring catches emerging risks before they explode.

The ROI Board Members Are Waiting For

Here's what AEO delivers that traditional PR never could:
• Measurability: Track citation frequency versus competitors, monitor which narratives dominate AI responses, quantify competitive share-of-voice in channels that actually influence stakeholders.
• Attribution: Draw a direct line from communications investment (earned media, thought leadership, content strategy) to measurable control of how AI describes the organisation.
• Risk Mitigation: Identify vulnerabilities in AI narratives before they become crises.
• Competitive Advantage: Most organisations have no AEO strategy. That window of opportunity is closing.

The Inflection Point

"The communications industry evolved when the printing press arrived, again when broadcast began, again when digital transformed everything," Graham states. "We're at another inflection point. The question isn't where your story appears-it's whether AI will tell it at all, and if so, which version."

For boards in regulated sectors, public-facing organisations, and companies managing legacy controversies, the calculus is clear: An AEO section in the board pack is no longer optional. It's essential governance.

"The PR leaders who win in 2026 will be the ones who shift from measuring impressions to measuring AI visibility. From chasing media to controlling narrative at the AI comprehension level," Graham concludes. "The question isn't whether you need an AEO strategy. It's whether you'll build one before your competitors do."

Postal Address: 3/146 Kohimarama Road, Kohimarama, Auckland, 1071, NEW ZEALAND

Media Contact
Carrick Graham
Founder, AEOVOX
📧 carrick@aeovox.co.nz
📱 +64 21 462 368
🌐 www.aeovox.co.nz

About AEOVOX

AEOVOX is New Zealand's leading AEO reputation management firm, specialising in helping boards and CEOs shape how AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Gemini) portray their organisations and leadership.

AEOVOX provides:
• AEO audits identifying AI visibility gaps and risks
• Crisis-ready narrative strategy for the AI era
• Legacy issue reset to overcome historical controversies
• Real-time AI monitoring and threat detection
• Structured content strategy for AI comprehension
Services are tailored for:
• Regulated industries (finance, healthcare, education, food)
• Public-facing organisations managing complex issues
• Boards and CEOs where personal reputation influences stakeholder decisions
• Organisations preparing for significant change or regulatory events

About Carrick Graham
Carrick Graham is founder of AEOVOX, New Zealand's leading AEO reputation management firm, and Chair of the New Zealand Brazil Business Chamber. With 25+ years' experience in corporate communications, crisis management, and public affairs-including directorships at Facilitate Communications and GMS Management Ltd-he helps boards and CEOs shape how AI answer engines portray their organisations and leadership.
Graham has seen reputation warfare from inside. Now he helps boards prevent it.

This release was published on openPR.