For decades, corporate reputation has been built through the media, search engines, spokespersons, opinion leaders and social platforms. The rise of tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity is now introducing a new force into that ecosystem: artificial intelligence.
More people are turning to conversational AI assistants to search for information, compare options and make decisions. These systems no longer simply retrieve content; they interpret, synthesise and transform it into answers that influence how a brand is perceived, understood and recommended. For communications leaders, this represents a paradigm shift: reputation management is no longer only about generating awareness or media coverage, but also about understanding the signals AI models use to construct their responses and how those signals influence the corporate narrative.
At APPLE TREE, we have spent years exploring how technology transforms the relationship between brands and people. Guided by our NEW THINKING philosophy, we see artificial intelligence not simply as a technological innovation, but as a profound change in the mechanics of influence, trust and decision-making.
“Every technological revolution creates new intermediaries between brands and their audiences. Today, artificial intelligence is one of them. The challenge for organisations is not only to understand how the technology works, but to understand how it is changing the way trust, influence and reputation are built,” says Jacobo Zelada, Partner at APPLE TREE.
This transformation was the focus of a recent session led by APPLE TREE, bringing together sector experts to analyse the impact of AI on the construction of reputation and influence. Alongside Jacobo Zelada, the panel featured Micky Turci, CEO of RepIndex and Advisor at Paravium; Nacho Larriba, CEO of Paravium and Professor of Applied AI at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM); and Mª Ángeles Quesada, philosopher and CEO of Equánima, who contributed perspectives from reputation measurement, applied artificial intelligence and critical thinking.
In this context, initiatives such as RepIndex.ai demonstrate the growing relevance of algorithmic reputation. The platform analyses, on a weekly basis, how six of the leading AI models perceive and narrate 176 major Spanish companies, using a methodology academically validated by the Complutense University of Madrid.
According to APPLE TREE, this new landscape is transforming the traditional activity of companies, media organisations and communications agencies. While influence has historically been built through editorial coverage, search visibility and social conversation, generative AI models now use those same sources to build recommendations and narratives that directly impact decision-making.
“Large language models learn from what is published by the media, experts and the sources they consider trustworthy. This means reputation no longer only builds trust — it also determines a brand’s visibility in AI environments,” adds Jacobo.
New methodology: Agentic Relations
To help organisations face this challenge, APPLE TREE has developed Agentic Relations, a methodology designed to audit, optimise and monitor how a brand is interpreted, activated and recommended by large language models and generative AI systems.
The methodology is built around three pillars: LLM Audit, which measures a brand’s visibility and narrative across the leading AI models; Signal Architecture, focused on optimising the content and assets that feed these systems; and Continuous Monitoring, which tracks the evolution of generated responses and detects changes in reputational positioning.
Agentic Relations is born from this NEW THINKING perspective: a discipline that expands the traditional scope of PR into a new environment where artificial intelligence agents are already influencing visibility, reputation and decision-making. It reflects APPLE TREE’s belief in purposeful communication, courageous brands and integrated teams that combine strategy, creativity and cultural relevance to generate measurable business impact.
