The future of public relations isn’t about forecasts — it’s about the reality of what’s happening on the ground. From how AI is changing communication to the new challenges of digital forums and social media, here’s a candid look at the immediate shifts and opportunities facing industrial brands.
This blog wasn’t sparked by a research report or a trend forecast. It came from a conversation. Someone recently asked me, “Where do you think PR is going — and where are your clients headed over the next year?”
Not in the buzzy, over-polished ‘top trends’ kind of way, but in a real, off-the-cuff, what-are-you-seeing-on-the-ground way.
It made me pause. Because I do have thoughts — not just about the future of PR as a discipline, but about what’s happening in the industries we serve: construction, manufacturing, marine, energy, logistics and more.
These aren’t predictions. They’re observations.
And here’s what I see happening.
Part one will focus on PR and part two will focus on industrial B2B sectors.
What’s inside:
- AI is going to rewrite the rules — and trigger a trust crisis
- We’re heading into a paradox of media trust and AI credibility
- Forums like Reddit are a reputational minefield — and most brands are ignoring them
- The influencer bubble is bursting
- AI is reshaping search — and elevating social content in new ways
1. AI is going to rewrite the rules — and trigger a trust crisis
It’s easy to say AI is going to change PR. Everyone’s saying it. But here’s what I think is actually going to happen: we’re heading into a full-blown trust crisis.
When every piece of content starts to sound polished, professional and well-written, how do you know what’s real? Who’s behind it? Was it created to inform, or just to rank? Was it written by a person, or prompted into existence?
AI will transform search visibility and brand awareness — but it’s also going to erode the baseline confidence people have in what they’re reading.
As someone who’s been a journalist, a PR professional and even a musician, I’ve seen two things hold true about American audiences:
1. We don’t like being told what to do
2. We value authenticity above almost everything else — sometimes even more than factual accuracy
AI threatens both. It risks sounding too polished, too calculated, too generic. That’s going to make authenticity the currency of communication. The content that wins will be the kind backed by overwhelming logic, evidence and humanity. The stuff that feels real because it is real.
And for PR agencies like ours, that means something big:
We have to become specialists in how AI is changing communication — not someday, but now. Our clients are busy. They’re managing sales, operations, staffing and production. They don’t have time to decode the latest in generative search. That’s why they hire us.
2. We’re heading into a paradox of media trust and AI credibility
Mainstream media trust is shaky at best. Yet AI and search engines continue to treat it as the gold standard of third-party verification. That puts brands in a strange place: their audiences may not fully trust the press, but the algorithms that surface them in search and AI responses do.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this tension plays out. And brands are going to need to find ways to show up in authoritative places — without forgetting that their audiences expect humanity, not just high rankings.
3. Forums like Reddit are a reputational minefield — and most brands are ignoring them
Companies say they want to build word-of-mouth reputation, but too many are ignoring the places where it actually happens: Reddit, Discord, niche forums, private groups and message boards. These communities are raw, messy and unfiltered — but they’re where trust is built (or destroyed).
Brands often tell us, “Well, we can’t advertise on Reddit.” That’s missing the point.
You don’t need to advertise. You need to engage — thoughtfully, honestly and on the community’s terms. That might mean reaching out to a forum moderator and offering behind-the-scenes access to your product team, no strings attached. It might mean inviting respected voices to your trade show booth, just to observe and share what they learn — again, no strings attached.
It’s about trust, not control.
And here’s the bigger issue:
AI is combing these forums for content. It’s feeding on public conversations and baking that into its responses. That means a single negative thread — even one with sketchy facts — can ripple through AI, search and social media in a way that’s completely outside your control.
This demands urgent attention.
Not from legal. From PR.
4. The influencer bubble is bursting
There was a gold rush in the last decade: people with deep experience in things like music, skateboarding, home repair or automotive turned that knowledge into content — and content into careers.
But the well’s running dry.
Many influencers have run out of things to say. They’ve shifted from substance to shilling. Authenticity is gone, and audiences feel it. Trust is low. Engagement is down. And companies are increasingly hiring internal teams to create influencer-style content, bypassing the middle layer entirely.
The era of paying a stranger to “talk like a fan” may be coming to an end — and not a moment too soon.
5. AI is reshaping search — and elevating social content in new ways
Google and other platforms are beginning to integrate real-time social content — including Instagram posts — into their results. That brings social into the same risk/reward category as forums: high potential for visibility, high potential for damage if unmanaged.
This isn’t about hiring influencers. It’s about engaging truthfully with the people who already care about your product, your market or your mission. Brands need to think less about content calendars and more about showing up in the conversations already happening.
Final thought
There’s no single takeaway here.
This isn’t a “top 10 trends” blog.
It’s just what I see.
From inside the agency. From the U.S. perspective. From the industries we serve every day.
Things are changing fast.
And we’re here for it.
If your brand is ready to build a strategy that prioritizes authenticity and earns a credible reputation in a changing digital world, we’re here to help. Get in touch to start the conversation.
Damian Joseph
Vice President
About the author
