January 2026
The CEO - communications confidence gap is closing — but AI is the new flashpoint
THE SITUATION
Last year, Weber Shandwick research revealed a troubling confidence gap: CEOs expressed significant concerns about whether their communications teams could keep pace with the complexity and velocity of change.
This year, new research commissioned in partnership with Gravity Research suggests that the story has shifted. The confidence gap is closing, and the directional change is unmistakable. Here's what's driving the shift— and what it means for the future of the profession.
The confidence gap narrows. The confidence gap between CEOs and their communications advisors is narrowing. Last year, we found just 17% of executives were “confident or very confident” in the ability of the communications and public affairs function to manage an ecosystem of volatility and rapid change.
Today, 52% of communications chiefs say their CEO's confidence in the function has grown over the past 12 months, while only 2% report decreased confidence.
CCOs have gained ground in managing external forces, including geopolitics, stakeholder activism and regulatory concerns. Roughly half of chief communicators report high confidence responding to stakeholder activism (53%), managing geopolitical risks (49%), and addressing regulatory pressures (49%). When including moderate confidence, 86-91% feel equipped to advise across these domains. This suggests communications teams have built broad strategic advisory capability—not just tactical execution skills.
External affairs challenges around AI transformation have emerged, expanded. AI transformation stands out as the domain where executives openly acknowledge capability gaps. Only 44% of communicators say CEOs demonstrate high ability articulating AI transformation and its implications for the company, ranking it lowest among all challenges measured. Meanwhile, only 35% of communications chiefs report high confidence advising on AI transformation and messaging also the lowest advisory confidence score across all domains.
5 CCOs recognize AI's impact on their work—but struggle to translate it into enterprise advisory. Communications chiefs report that AI will have its most significant impact on employee engagement (74%) and corporate storytelling and media relations (70%)—core domains of their work. This suggests they're not AI skeptics but pragmatic adopters who understand how the technology reshapes stakeholder communication, message delivery, and engagement strategies.
BECOME A GRAVITY INSIDER
4 Amid transformation challenges, board pressures continue to rise. Boards are demanding their CEOs go on offense, with 89% of communicators reporting that boards have sustained or raised expectations for clearer articulation of how the company creates value across stakeholders over an 18-24 month horizon – a further increase after last year’s 79% surge, according to CEOs.
Share your perspective and gain peer-driven insights. Join our network of senior communications and public affairs executives exploring insights and strategies for managing today’s reputational pressure points. Contact insiders@gravityresearch.com to learn more.
CCOs say the CEO ‘confidence gap’ is down, while board demands for fluency are rising
Share of executives on how equipped their company’s comms and public affairs function is to keep pace with rapid change
Share of executives on how CEO’s confidence in comms and public affairs to keep pace with rapid change has changed in the last 12 months
An 11-percentage point gap sits between CEOs’ and CCOs’ perception of their comms and public affairs agility a modest, yet notable split in a time of imperative comms synchronicity
Over half of CCOs say CEO confidence has grown and only 2% report a decline, marking a clear shift from the 13% of CEOs who noted falling confidence in 2025
of CCOs say their boards have sustained or raised expectations for stronger visibility and better fluency around stakeholder communications
Communicators are confidently advising CEOs around top reputational risks
CCOS SHOW CONFIDENCE IN KEY ISSUES’ STRATEGY
Share of CCOs’ confidence in advising their CEOs on the following challenges:
Responding to stakeholder activism
Addressing regulatory and policy pressures
Managing
risks and implications
Communicators show their aptitude in strategic advising, with over 80% of CCOs noting moderate to high confidence in advising chief executives across top reputational challenges, and over half reporting high confidence in helping CEOs navigate targeted activist pressures
CEOS COMMUNICATE PRIORITY NARRATIVES IN STRIDE
Share of CCOs on their CEO’s ability to articulate clear, credible narratives on the following issues:
Stakeholder
CEOs are well equipped to communicate about today’s pressure points, according to the CCOs advising them. Nearly 2 in 3 communicators say their executives are highly capable of articulating strong narratives on stakeholder pressures and emerging regulatory risks
Communicators flag a credibility gap in AI’s business promise
B2B CCOS FEEL THE DISCONNECT IN AI’S PROMISES
Share of CCOs on the greatest disconnect between expectations and reality around AI implementation*
Respondents
Promised business outcomes vs. measurable results
Executive messaging vs. employee experience
Investment levels vs. competitive necessity
No significant disconnect
Internal capabilities vs. reliance on external partners
Ethical commitments vs. market pressure to move fast
Board expectations vs. execution capability
48% of B2B CCOs foresee a promisereality gap around AI’s business promise vs demonstratable impact
COMMS SEES AI USE IN STRATEGIC MESSAGING
Share of CCOs on where they believe AI will have the most significant impact in the next 12-24 months
Respondents
Employee engagement
Corporate storytelling and media relations
Public affairs and policy communications
Crisis and issues management
Investor relations and financial communications
B2B & B2C communicators aligned on AI impacts, with both identifying internal communications and storytelling as key avenues for change
Survey fielded by Gravity Research from December 16, 2025 – January 9, 2026, among leading communications and public affairs executives
*Limited “Other” responses were omitted
WHAT COMMUNICATORS SHOULD DO
Despite a closing confidence gap, gains remain uneven
Integrate stakeholder intelligence across the enterprise.
Adapt to a real-time operating model.
Own the promise-reality gap.
The job of the CCO is no longer crafting what the organization says but building the infrastructure that leads the enterprise on what to say, when to say it, and to whom. Position stakeholder intelligence as strategic insight that shapes what the company does, not just how it communicates decisions already made. Before your CEO makes decisions, map how different stakeholder groups will respond. This moves you the CCO from messenger to strategic advisor.
The era of the master narrative is dead. Modern communicators must continually adapt in real-time to the rapid movements in the regulatory, geopolitical and stakeholder environments. Invest proactively in tools that allow you to have a constant pulse on, and therefore a constant voice to, multiple stakeholder groups.
On AI, CCOs should leverage their unique organizational position—crafting external commitments while observing internal delivery as a strategic differentiator. With nearly nine in ten reporting at least one disconnect between AI expectations and reality, the function that spots and surfaces these gaps early protects stakeholder trust before it erodes.
Between December 16, 2025, and January 9, 2026, Gravity Research surveyed its panel of more than 200 communications and public affairs executives at Fortune 1000 companies. Forty-three respondents completed the Weber Shandwick x Gravity Research survey. Membership comprises senior decision-makers, including Vice Presidents, Senior Vice Presidents, Executive Vice Presidents, and CSuite executives, representing industries such as Communication Services, Consumer Discretionary, Health Care, and Information Technology. Annual revenue and employee bands were derived to segment participants with comparable organizations.
Gravity Research also evaluated participants by industry and whether the company primarily served consumers, a business-to-consumer (B2C) company, or businesses, a business-tobusiness (B2B) company.
Insiders by revenue
Insiders by headcount
Insider Demographics
Industry Sectors: Industries represented among Insiders are communication services, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, and retail.
Seniority: Insiders reflect senior-most leaders within their organizations, including titles such as vice president, senior vice president, executive vice president, and c-suite leadership.
Corporate Functions: A variety of functional areas were represented by these executives, including communications, marketing, government affairs, public policy, external affairs, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, reputation, and risk management with some leaders holding responsibility in multiple areas.
Confidentiality and Intellectual Property
These materials have been prepared by Gravity Research for the exclusive and individual use of our member organizations. As always, members are welcome to an unlimited number of copies of the materials contained within this handout for use within their organization. However, these materials contain valuable confidential and proprietary information belonging to Gravity Research and they may not be shared with any third party (including independent contractors and consultants) without the prior approval of Gravity Research. Gravity Research retains any and all intellectual property rights in these materials and requires retention of the copyright mark on all pages reproduced.
Legal Caveat
Gravity Research has worked to ensure the accuracy of the information it provides to its members. This report relies upon data obtained from many sources, and Gravity Research is not able to guarantee the accuracy of the information or analysis contained in these materials. Furthermore, Gravity Research is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or any other professional services. Gravity Research specifically disclaims liability for any damages, claims or losses that may arise from a) any errors or omissions in these materials, whether caused by Gravity Research or its sources, or b) reliance upon any recommendation made by Gravity Research.
