Het antwoord van de AI: Invloed uitoefenen op de nieuwe merkpoortwachter

How CMOs and CCOs can align comms, marketing and digital to win in an era where AI assistants shape brand reputation.

AI assistants are fast becoming the new gatekeeper between your brand and the stakeholders who matter most.

Whether it’s a CMO shortlisting vendors, a broker assessing providers, or a Head of Comms choosing a new agency, more journeys now start with a simple question to an AI tool – not a search results page. Those answers are built on everything AI systems can see about you: media coverage, analyst reports, owned channels, legacy PDFs and more.

If those signals are fragmented, outdated or inconsistent, your brand story is at risk before a prospect ever visits your website.

“The AI Answer: Influencing the new brand gatekeeper” is a joint report from Clarity Global and Sefiani that explores how AI‑powered discovery is reshaping reputation in corporate Australia – and what leaders can do about it.

Based on research with 150 senior marketing and communications decision-makers in Australia, the report reveals:

• AI visibility is already on the agenda
  • 91% have made significant changes to their marcomms strategy because of AI‑driven discovery and search.
  • Nearly half have already allocated 5–10% of their total marcomms budget to influencing how their brand appears in AI environments.

• Silos are creating real‑world brand risk
  • 77% say internal silos between comms, marketing and digital caused reputation or brand issues in the past 12 months – from slower crisis responses to inconsistent messaging.
  • Only 16% say responsibility for AI visibility is genuinely shared across teams.

• Leaders see the upside of integration – but struggle to execute
  • 99% believe outcomes would materially improve if comms, marketing and digital worked as one integrated function.
  • Yet most still have blurred accountability, measurement gaps and limited capacity to act.