CEOs Trust Comms More, But Not On AI
A new Weber Advisory study conducted with Gravity Research finds the confidence gap between CEOs and their communications teams is narrowing significantly, with more than half of communications executives reporting their CEO's confidence in the function has grown over the past 12 months while only 2% report decreased confidence, down sharply from 13% in 2025.
The research shows communications leaders have addressed capability gaps on traditional challenges, with 86-91% feeling equipped to advise on geopolitical risks, stakeholder activism, and regulatory pressures when including moderate confidence levels.
AI transformation has emerged as a new credibility test, with only 44% of executives saying CEOs demonstrate high fluency articulating AI transformation and its implications, the lowest score across all challenges measured, while just 35% of communications chiefs report high confidence advising on AI transformation and messaging.
The study reveals why enterprise AI adoption poses unique communication challenges, with nearly nine in ten respondents reporting at least one disconnect between expectations and reality, including 42% citing gaps between promised business outcomes and measurable results and 37% reporting gaps between executive messaging and employee experience.
The research surveyed over 200 Fortune 1000 leaders in communications and corporate affairs, and follows a 2025 study that found just 17% of executives were confident in their communications teams to navigate the modern era, indicating chief communicators have gained ground but done so unevenly.
Full story: Weber Shandwick