84 per cent of senior communications leaders say their organisations consider political factors when deciding whether to speak publicly, while 61 per cent prefer to stay quiet on potentially divisive issues even when they could authentically speak up, according to the Ipsos Reputation Council Report 2026, Life After Predictability.
The 19th edition of the report draws on 200 one-to-one conversations between Ipsos Corporate Reputation and senior communications and corporate affairs leaders, conducted between March and June 2026.
The findings suggest that geopolitical uncertainty, AI, and increasingly fragmented stakeholder expectations are shifting the value of communications from message-making towards strategic judgement and organisational decision-making.
The report found that 35 per cent of Reputation Council members said their organisations had stayed quiet on issues over the previous 12 months that they would previously have addressed publicly, including sensitive topics such as ESG and DEI .
However, only 17 per cent agreed that strategic silence constitutes corporate cowardice. According to Ipsos, organisations are increasingly weighing their public positions against business principles, stakeholder expectations, and potential reputational risks.
This trend was particularly evident in the US, where 53 per cent of communicators said their organisations had remained silent on issues they would previously have addressed, compared with 28 per cent in Europe. The report attributed this difference to varying political pressures across markets.
Milorad Ajder, Global Service Line Leader, Corporate Reputation at Ipsos, said: "For many organisations, Strategic Silence has become a deliberate response to a more fragmented, polarised and unpredictable environment. The challenge for communicators today is exercising judgement: knowing which issues to engage with, which battles to fight, and how to help organisations make sound decisions when certainty is unavailable."
The report identifies geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, regulatory changes, and political polarisation as ongoing features of the business environment rather than temporary disruptions.
Communications leaders are increasingly expected to anticipate risks, consider multiple scenarios, and advise organisations operating under uncertainty.
Stakeholder consensus is also becoming harder to achieve, with 46 per cent of Council Members agreeing that populism represents a material risk to their organisation.
As customers, employees, investors, and regulators hold increasingly conflicting expectations, communicators are being challenged to maintain consistent organisational principles while adapting their approaches across different markets.
According to Ipsos, the task is shifting from finding messages that satisfy everyone towards helping organisations manage unavoidable trade-offs.
AI is increasingly acting as an intermediary between organisations and stakeholders, drawing on corporate websites, earned media, and third-party information to generate responses that influence how organisations are understood.
Daily AI use among Council Members increased from 57 per cent in 2025 to 76 per cent in 2026, while meaningful AI use rose from 43 per cent to 76 per cent.
However, only 12 per cent agreed that existing ethical policies in business are sufficient for AI adoption, while 76 per cent disagreed.
The report also found that 78 per cent of Council Members believe fake news and disinformation pose a material threat to their business.
According to Ipsos, these developments reinforce the need for human oversight and judgement when evaluating AI-generated information, managing reputational risks, and determining how technology should be used.
The findings also point to the renewed importance of press releases and earned media as sources of information for AI-generated answers, highlighting their role in GEO.
49 per cent of Council members disagreed that the term ESG accurately describes their organisation's activities, while 61 per cent said their ESG communications had become more targeted.
Meanwhile, 22 per cent acknowledged consciously under-communicating credible ESG progress in the previous year.
According to Ipsos, sustainability remains a strategic priority for many organisations, but communications are increasingly focused on business resilience, competitiveness and tangible outcomes, with greater emphasis on demonstrating progress rather than making broad commitments.
The report found that 67 per cent of Council Members agreed that their job responsibilities had become harder to manage, as communicators are increasingly expected to provide stakeholder intelligence and strategic counsel beyond traditional messaging.
However, demonstrating reputation's commercial value remains challenging. Almost half (49 per cent) reported some connection between reputation and remuneration, including 29 per cent with a direct link and 20 per cent with an indirect link.
Ipsos highlights that reputation is shaped by factors beyond communications, including customer experience, operational performance, and leadership behaviour, requiring greater collaboration across business functions.
Drawing on its findings, Ipsos identifies five priorities for the future communications function.
Invest in judgement rather than content production: Strengthen the ability to interpret complex information, assess trade-offs, and support informed decisions as AI makes content creation faster and more accessible.
Develop communications as an intelligence capability: Improve horizon scanning, stakeholder research, and issues monitoring to identify emerging risks and support business decisions before problems escalate.
Become comfortable with trade-offs: Help leaders navigate conflicting stakeholder expectations, determine which organisational principles are non-negotiable, and assess the potential consequences of difficult decisions.
Reskill for the next era of communications: Develop AI fluency, data literacy, commercial awareness, and resilience, alongside established strengths such as storytelling and relationship building.
Earn a role in decision-making: Position communications as a source of strategic counsel by helping leaders understand stakeholder expectations, navigate ambiguity, and evaluate reputational consequences.
Ipsos concludes that as uncertainty becomes a lasting feature of the business environment, communications professionals will increasingly be valued for their judgement and ability to help organisations make informed decisions, rather than simply the messages they produce.