The Six PR Shifts Every Comms Leader Should Prepare For in 2026

By Kerry Parkin, Founder of The Remarkables

Public relations is heading for one of its most dramatic years yet.

The shifts we felt bubbling under the surface in 2025 are about to break through with real force and communications leaders who spot these changes early will be in a stronger position than those who hope the old playbook still works. AI is changing discovery, cyber threats are evolving in ways that feel coordinated rather than random, and teams are being pushed to communicate through constant transformation rather than occasional updates; so if ever there was a year to rethink how PR earns influence inside an organisation, it is 2026.

GEO will become a mainstay in PR measurement

2026 will mark the point where Generative Engine Optimisation moves from experimentation to everyday practice. Brand discovery is shifting to AI assistants at speed, so comms leaders are realising that their visibility within these answers matters. In 2025, early adopters ran AI visibility audits across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity to see how their organisations appeared, which revealed that measurement can extend beyond traditional media reporting. This opened the door to models that track everything from brand presence to narrative accuracy.

GEO and LEO audits are set to become as normal as media monitoring once was, particularly as tools like The Mark demonstrate that AI visibility can finally be measured consistently.

In-house teams will bolster media relations to influence GEO outcomes

Teams are paying closer attention to the sources AI trusts; therefore, many are realising their greatest influence still sits in high-quality coverage. AI tools draw heavily on reputable journalism, so in-house departments are bringing in people with newsroom instincts and sharpening their editorial pipelines.

Brands that used AI audits to review their media lists identified which publications and reporters were shaping their visibility, enabling them to rebuild outreach strategies with greater precision. This has led to renewed investment in media relations and a shift in how stories are structured so AI engines treat them as reliable signals rather than background noise.

Media houses will double down on reputable reporting

Publishers are responding to the rise of AI-generated misinformation by tightening their standards and building stronger verification systems.

Newsrooms have introduced provenance tagging and AI-detection layers to help flag authenticity, which reassures readers and signals reliability to large language models. These steps have paid off, with publishers reporting 10-20% uplift in syndication and citation rates inside generative platforms. As a result, outlets known for dependable reporting are becoming even more influential because agencies and brands want their stories to sit within sources AI trusts.

Cyber patterns will continue to unfold as hackers move in industry clusters

Cyber incidents will remain at the top of leadership agendas, particularly as attackers shift their focus from isolated hits to waves that spread across entire sectors. Recent patterns show retail breaches occurring close together, ransomware hitting logistics firms in similar cycles and phishing attacks concentrating in healthcare.

Advice from bodies such as NCSC and CISA has highlighted this trend, underscoring the need for comms leaders to build cyber-readiness strategies that reflect these evolving patterns. Crisis teams will have to communicate with pace and clarity while maintaining empathy and authority, because breaches are becoming more complex and more interconnected than ever.

More change management communications as businesses face new headwinds

Change is becoming a constant rather than an event. Economic shifts, regulatory updates, geopolitical uncertainty and AI integration are pushing organisations into near-permanent transformation. Surveys in 2025 showed that most CEOs ranked restructuring and adaptation as top priorities, placing comms teams at the centre of cultural stability.

When employees understand the reasons behind decisions and feel informed early, trust rises, enabling the business to move more freely. This type of communication needs to be thoughtful and consistent, as people absorb change more easily when leaders explain what is happening in a clear, human way.

Creativity rebounds as human originality becomes a differentiator

As AI takes on routine tasks, creative work that feels deeply human will stand out. Brands are seeking ideas that spark emotion and feel culturally alive, creating a renewed appetite for distinctive storytelling.

Campaigns that blended generative tools with strong human concepts performed well in 2025, with industry analysis showing that the most successful work leaned heavily on human-led ideas. This approach helped those campaigns rise above AI-only content, particularly because audiences recognised the originality and craft.

Conclusion

If 2025 sets the stage, 2026 will be the moment PR transforms in full view. GEO will reshape how visibility is measured, cyber threats will demand steadier leadership, whilst change management will become central to internal trust. Meanwhile, creativity will return with new confidence as brands rediscover the value of human judgement.

Comms leaders who embrace these shifts early will guide their organisations with clarity and resilience as the industry changes faster than ever.