Survey Ranks AI Misuse as Companies’ Top Reputational Threat

Misuse of AI ranked ahead of child-safety concerns and privacy infringements in a survey of more than 150 public affairs leaders. The Reputation Risk Index, released October 6, 2026, puts AI at the top of companies’ reputational threats—and its publisher is urging immediate action to prevent lasting brand damage, according to the Guardian.

Efficiency gains come with several routes to damage

Respondents saw substantial promise in AI’s ability to make organizations more efficient. But they also associated the technology with safety and data concerns, hacks, fraud, pressure on privacy protections and workforce disruption. Their concerns span both how companies operate and what happens to people affected by their products.

Legal exposure was part of that judgment: respondents pointed to lawsuits increasingly linking AI products to real-world harm. Council chair Isabel Casillas Guzman framed the business risk as a loss of standing with customers, investors and other stakeholders. She warned that AI use—or overuse—could quickly damage those relationships.

As AI is rapidly deployed for productivity gains, we have also seen diminishing public trust in the technology, elevating the need for businesses to take measures to protect their brands.

Isabel Casillas Guzman, chair of the Global Risk Advisory Council, in a statement

A crisis panel, not a customer poll

The index and council were created by Global Situation Room, a Washington, DC-based public affairs firm. The firm says its survey draws on former heads of state, government ministers and senior executives from more than 20 countries across five continents. Participants are invited after establishing credentials in responding to crises.

That makes the ranking a measure of perceived reputational danger among public affairs leaders, rather than a direct survey of customers. The distinction is important: the top position captures these respondents’ assessment of risk. It does not quantify how much brand damage AI misuse has already caused.

A recurring concern gets an urgent advisory

The council acknowledges that AI misuse is not a newly discovered concern. It has repeatedly appeared among the leading worries since the quarterly index began in April 2025. The new step is an advisory attached to this edition, calling for immediate and decisive action to limit potential long-term brand damage.

The council described AI as a “clear and present danger to public confidence for many corporations.” Its warning focuses on prevention, with Guzman urging businesses to deploy protective tactics now. Alongside AI misuse, the index’s top five included four other categories of reputational risk:

• Actions or accusations involving mental, emotional or physical harm to children.
• Infringements of sensitive personal information.
• Unethical or illegal conduct to gain a strategic advantage or profit.
• Poor strategic or operational decisions that reduce financial or public standing.