The new reputation landscape: Adapting corporate narratives in the era of LLMs.

Luis Dorado is a partner and Chief Operating Officer at Asesores, the strategic communications consultancy he founded in 1995, has directed since 2003, and which recently integrated into Good Rebels. With over three decades of experience, he is a board member of the ADC and a specialist in corporate narrative and crisis management for brands such as Microsoft, Hyundai, and Siemens.

Having navigated every industry revolution, from the advent of email to AI, he holds firmly to a non-negotiable principle: channels change, but the challenge for any organization remains being credible. An advocate that communication is only effective when working hand-in-hand with CEOs, his strategic vision achieves average client relationships of seven years, nearly double the industry average. We spoke with him about the current challenges in corporate communications.

Q: The way information is consumed has changed radically in recent years. Why is public relations still relevant today, and what has changed the most in how PR is executed compared to ten years ago?

A: Public relations is always relevant and important. Today, even more so. In a digitally driven world, personal relationships and PR help to highlight the excellent work being done in marketing, communications, or any other field. That is the answer I would give you today, and it is the same one I would have given 15 years ago.

What has radically changed, however, is the multitude of channels we must navigate to achieve relevance and influence our audiences. Previously, the spectrum of influence channels was much narrower. Today, a Marketing or Communications Director faces a far more complex landscape: paid and organic media, paid and organic social networks, and a vast array of different platforms.

The question is no longer just how to reach our audiences, but how to do so in each of these spaces: how do I operate on one social network versus another? Which ones make sense to be on, and which do not? The same applies to our own website: how do I use it? What purpose does it serve? How can I convey what I want to say and ensure it reaches my audience exactly as intended? And this is only part of the challenge. There are hundreds of other factors to consider when deciding where to be, how to communicate, and, above all, how to ensure our message resonates in an increasingly fragmented environment.

Q: Organic communication has always been considered an intangible that is difficult to measure and justify. Is that changing? What differentiates companies that manage their reputation well from those that do not, and to what extent does it impact the business?

A: I find it difficult to speak about organic communication per se, because I believe communication is everything. I was recently speaking with a company’s Marketing Director about the relationship between marketing and communications, and I firmly believe that communication sits at the very top of a company’s strategy.

Where lies the difference between a company that does it well and one that does not? If an organisation clearly defines how it wants to tell its story and establishes a defined, tailored narrative aligned with its business needs, and that narrative cascades down to marketing, sales, external communications, and internal communications—that is where the company finds success. The moment it possesses a narrative and a way of presenting itself to society and its audiences that aligns with its business objectives, and ensures this permeates every company activity (whether commercial or marketing), that is when an organisation truly succeeds.

Q: AI is changing how people search for information and form opinions about brands. What does this mean for corporate communications? How does a communications agency integrate into strategies involving LLMs and GEO?

A: I believe we are at a stage where everyone is learning. This moment demands flexibility and adaptability. It is incredibly difficult to predict what a communications agency will look like in five or ten years, depending on how artificial intelligence continues to disrupt our professional content. How must a communications agency respond? It must be permeable, flexible, and capable of adapting to something that changes almost daily. That is the first point.

Secondly, AI, or the channels opened up by AI, is becoming the primary tool consumers use to receive information. The communications agency will play a crucial role in influencing these channels consumed by clients. According to studies and expert consensus, today’s AI languages and LLMs are drawing from reputable reference sources. These are fundamentally the media outlets where communications agencies have traditionally wielded the greatest capacity for impact.

Therefore, we must live in this current reality while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to whatever new developments arrive, which are changing by the hour.

Q: A reputational crisis can destroy in hours what a brand has spent years building. How should a company prepare for such a situation, and what role does the agency play when a crisis hits?

A: The agency’s role is critical. In fact, when facing a crisis, a company must not merely prepare; it must anticipate. To anticipate effectively, an agency must map out potential scenarios. This ensures that when a crisis breaks, there is no need to improvise; instead, there are clear steps regarding who receives the information, who the first point of contact is, and what must be prioritised.

Consequently, the agency and the Head of Communications must always have thorough preparations in place. Generally, this is codified in a “crisis playbook”. Every company, large or small, should have a crisis playbook, scaled to its size. The primary rule is: do not improvise, and have a prepared plan.

Furthermore, the agency’s role during the crisis is fundamental. Generally, it acts as a buffer or a shield to halt or suspend the crisis situation, buying time to consult the playbook and act according to unfolding events. Additionally, the agency provides vital accompaniment throughout the crisis. Agencies with proven crisis experience can guide the client, advising them on the best course of action based on past precedent. But the absolute golden rule is never to improvise: always have a predefined roadmap ready to deploy.

Q: Does it still make sense to separate corporate communications from digital marketing, or are we witnessing an integration that erases that boundary?

A: I am not in favour of adding qualifiers to communication. I believe communication is simply communication, whether it is corporate, organic, or marketing-led. Broadly speaking, communication is communication. When discussing communication in the corporate sphere, I believe the boundaries between marketing and communications are highly blurred. In my view, communication, understood as how to design a narrative and adapt that story across different channels to reach diverse audiences, is something that sits at the very top of a company’s strategy.

I am convinced, and I believe the evidence supports this, that communication is a fundamental part of an organisation’s strategy. Indeed, a Managing Director or CEO always places great focus and interest on ensuring that communication is strictly aligned with the business.

Luis Dorado’s vision leaves a clear lesson: no matter how much technological disruption shakes the industry, the core of corporate communications remains unaltered. Channels will continue to multiply, and AI will dictate new consumption habits, but the success and survival of any organisation will always depend on a single premise: building a robust narrative, driving it from the executive board, and, above all, remaining credible.