By Karina Frayter, Corporate Affairs Executive, University Trustee, NYSE Board Diversity Initiative Member
Reputation is no longer shaped solely by what organizations say or do. Algorithms now play a central role. The rapid rise of AI-powered search and generative content tools, like ChatGPT, is reshaping how brands are discovered.
Recent research from Bain & Company shows that nearly 80% of search users rely on AI-generated summaries for a significant portion of their queries, with more than half never clicking through to the organization’s site. AI influences in real time what stakeholders see, which messages are prioritized, and how perceptions are formed—often before organizations have a chance to respond directly.
For corporate and nonprofit boards, understanding AI’s impact on brand and reputation has become a governance imperative, making it essential to ensure the right expertise, oversight, and strategic guidance are in place to safeguard this critical asset. Without deliberate board attention, organizations risk quickly losing visibility, being misrepresented, facing brand mistrust, losing market share, and missing strategic opportunities.
Key Questions Every Board Should Ask
To be effective, directors don’t need to be technologists, but they do need to ask the right questions. Among them:
- Digital discoverability: How is AI affecting the way our brand appears in search, social, and emerging platforms? Does management have a strategy to guide our online narrative, and what risks should the board be aware of?
- Reputation monitoring: Does management have the tools and expertise to track real-time brand sentiment and interpret those signals accurately? How are insights reported to the board?
- Crisis readiness: If AI accelerates a reputational issue, are our rapid-response processes robust, well-resourced, and tested?
- Board composition: Does the board have, or consult, the right expertise in communications, digital strategy, and AI literacy? Where are our skill gaps?
- Execution capacity: Are our organization’s marketing and communications teams equipped with the training and tools needed to act on AI insights? How does the board assess the organization’s operational readiness?
Boards that proactively engage with these questions are better positioned to anticipate risks, identify opportunities, respond to pressures, and guide long-term resilience.
Leveraging AI Opportunities
Of course, AI is not just a threat—it’s a lever for growth.
Generative AI enables organizations to deliver personalized experiences, optimize stakeholder interactions, and produce high-quality content at scale, boosting engagement and loyalty.
Boards that understand this potential can help their organizations seize opportunities while maintaining trust, credibility, and long-term value.
AI can also enhance board operations by streamlining workflows, surfacing emerging risks, distilling insights, and enabling directors to govern with greater foresight.
Proactive Governance in the AI Era
AI is reshaping board governance. Directors who understand its impact on brand visibility and reputation are better equipped to fulfill their fiduciary duty, safeguard stakeholder trust, and guide organizations through accelerated change.
This environment also underscores the value of including communications executives with strong business experience on boards, especially those actively navigating similar AI-driven challenges in their day-to-day roles. Their expertise will help boards ask the right questions, provide informed oversight, and protect reputation as the strategic capital it has always been.
About Karina Frayter
Karina Frayter is a strategic communications and corporate affairs executive with expertise in reputation management, governance, and stakeholder engagement.
She helps organizations navigate complex challenges, anticipate risks, and evaluate the impact of strategic decisions on internal and external audiences.
With experience on multiple nonprofit boards, Karina serves on the Board of Trustees at a private university. She is also a member of the NYSE Board Services Network, which supports board-ready candidates and effective governance practices.
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