Amid economic, technological, and geopolitical disruption, stakeholder trust is the ultimate currency for global industrial brands — and increasingly difficult to secure and maintain. Generative AI, media fragmentation, and declining confidence in institutions mean trust must be actively built, evidenced, and protected. Drawing on SE10’s experience supporting industrial clients worldwide, we outline six communication pillars that will drive successful, future-proof brands in 2026.
Trust impacts every area of business. It influences customer decisions, attracts and retains talent, and facilitates effective collaboration with suppliers, dealers, and governments. It always matters, but in times of uncertainty, trust can make the difference between resilience and risk.
Paradoxically, just as stakeholder trust becomes more critical, it is also harder to earn and maintain. AI is reshaping how we find and receive information, media landscapes are fragmenting, and public scepticism towards institutions continues to grow. In this environment, how your brand communicates – clearly, consistently, and credibly – is central to whether it is seen, believed, and acted upon.
Trust is, therefore, not a soft outcome of good communication; rather a strategic asset that determines visibility, reputation, and influence.
Based on almost 25 years of partnership with global industrial brands, alongside our ongoing observation of communications and digital trends, we have identified six pillars that underpin stakeholder trust in 2026. In this article, we explain why each pillar matters now and how organisations can navigate them. Over the year, we will add links to further insight and practical guidance to support implementation.
1. Digital authority
AI is increasingly acting as a gatekeeper to information. Users now receive answers directly through AI chats or AI Overviews, often without visiting brand or media websites. If your brand is not cited in those answers, it is effectively invisible; if you are not proactively shaping them, you are not in control of your narrative.
In 2026, a generative engine optimisation (GEO) strategy — focused on providing clear, consistent, and verifiable signals of expertise across the web — is essential. Awareness and reputation now depend on AI recognising and trusting your brand as an authoritative source.
Read more:
• Your website is no longer just for humans (and that’s a good thing)
• SEO isn’t obsolete. It’s the foundation for generative engine optimization (GEO)
• Where to start with GEO when you can’t do everything at once
• Ads are coming to generative AI – but you still can’t buy trust
• AI, trust, and proactive reputation management in the industrial sector
2. Authenticity
Demonstrating real human expertise matters not only for AI visibility, but for human trust as well. Generative AI has contributed to a surge of low-value, generic content and misinformation, making it harder for credible voices to stand out and be believed.
At the same time, trust in governments, corporations, and media — highlighted by sources such as the Edelman Trust Barometer and the Reuters Institute Digital News Report — continues to decline. Audiences increasingly rely on individual influencers and peer validation instead.
This means that sharing genuine insight, experience, and judgement from the people behind your business is a crucial differentiator.
3. Purpose
Credibility in 2026 also increasingly depends on having a genuine purpose and communicating it in a way that reflects real business decisions and actions. Just as AI evaluates consistency between what organisations say and do as signals of credibility, so too do customers, employees, and partners.
The European Communication Monitor reports that younger audiences especially want the brands they interact with to stand for something meaningful and are quick to call out or boycott those, whose actions do not align with their stated values. The reputational impacts of this spread rapidly online and now also surface in AI responses.
4. Global-local communication
Inconsistencies in messaging across markets, regions, or functions can undermine trust just as quickly as misaligned purpose. In an interconnected digital world, messages rarely stay confined to a single market. Trade media, digital platforms, and AI systems operate globally, meaning information can travel — and be compared — instantly.
Global industrial brands must, therefore, ensure that core messaging is consistent to build authority, while allowing communications to be tailored to local realities, priorities, and cultural context for authenticity.
Consistency does not mean uniformity, however. Strong governance frameworks, cross-market collaboration, and clear guidance on what can be adapted locally enable communicators to manage this balance. Speaking with one coherent global voice, while connecting meaningfully with local audiences, builds credibility and trust with human stakeholders and AI systems alike.
5. Efficiency
Efficiency is not just about cost savings under economic pressure — it is a sign of trust and organisational competence. When teams responsible for media relations, websites, and social media operate in silos, the result can be inconsistent messaging, duplicated effort, and missed opportunities.
When teams trust each other and collaborate from a shared story, communication becomes more coherent and impactful. Messages reinforce one another across channels, rather than competing for attention. This internal alignment is visible externally, signalling clarity, credibility, and professionalism.
By treating efficiency as a strategic discipline — not just an operational concern — communicators can ensure every message works harder to reinforce authority, authenticity, and purpose within a wider ecosystem of trust.
6. Business impact
The final pillar is where the previous five converge into real-world results. In 2026, communicators must move beyond simply informing to actively enabling business success.
Demonstrating business impact means showing how trust — built through digital authority, authenticity, purpose, and consistency across markets and channels — drives stakeholder action. When trust is treated not as a ‘nice to have’ but as a measurable competitive advantage, communications leaders earn the credibility and influence needed to shape decisions, not just support them.
This is how communications functions become a strategic partner, guiding their organisations with confidence, authority, and long-term perspective.
Stakeholder trust as an ecosystem
As this article shows, these six pillars are deeply interconnected. Trust is not built in silos. It is assessed simultaneously by people and AI systems, across markets and channels — and weakness in one area can quickly undermine strengths in another.
Ultimately, trust is earned through the alignment of what an organisation says, what it does, and how it shows up over time. In a world of instant information and constant scrutiny, that alignment depends on consistency across people, platforms, and geographies and requires clarity, discipline, and long-term commitment. But with it comes lasting strategic advantage.
If you are ready to turn stakeholder trust into a measurable asset for your brand in 2026, the SE10 team would be pleased to start that conversation.
Hannah Kitchener
Associate Director
About the author
Hannah is an associate director in the UK, leading strategic campaigns for industrial clients across the EMEA region. A professionally qualified journalist (NCTJ), she combines specialist sectoral knowledge in construction, energy, and materials handling with a strong network of trade media contacts to secure valuable coverage. Her expertise in inter-cultural communication, honed by degrees in modern languages and translation, is key to executing campaigns that succeed across diverse European markets.
