Are communicators prepared for emerging risks? 

Philippe Borremans analyses the findings from his 2025 survey of crisis communication professionals.


Image by Rochak Shukla | Freepik

In late 2025, we surveyed 102 senior communication professionals to see how they are handling a worsening risk environment. Nearly half of the respondents had over 15 years of experience. These were not juniors guessing at the future; they have managed between one and five major public crises in the last two years alone. They see the risks coming, but many aren't moving to meet them.

AI was the main topic of conversation for many respondents, yet few organisations are ready for it. Adoption scores averaged just 2.49 out of five, with nearly half of organisations rating themselves at a ‘one’ or ‘two’. The holdup isn't just the technology; it's a lack of in-house expertise, tight budgets, and worries about data privacy.

Moreover, while AI creates new reputational threats, companies aren't using it for defence. Our results show that 37 per cent view deepfakes as a high or critical risk, yet 77 per cent have no written protocol to handle them. More than a third have no plans to create one.

Internal teamwork is also lagging. Crisis plans usually connect well with executive leadership, but links to HR, legal, and cybersecurity all scored below three out of five. This matters because crises rarely stay within one department. A cyberattack often leads to a data breach, which then causes employee unrest and media pressure. If these teams don't talk before a crisis, the response fails. Our data shows that the best-prepared organisations are those that practise together across departments under pressure.

Despite this, 12 per cent of organisations rarely test their plans, and 10 per cent never do. Common reasons behind such include competing priorities or a lack of a clear owner, but a plan sitting on a shelf is useless.

Trust is also harder to maintain. Two-thirds of respondents say keeping stakeholder trust is more difficult than it was five years ago. Yet the systems to track trust are weak. Many teams still rely on gut feeling and media mentions. Without hard data, you can't prove your work is effective or win the budget you need.

The professionals know they need to improve. They want to learn AI literacy, data analytics, and digital forensics. The real test, then, is whether that interest leads to actual training and budget shifts. By 2026, a crisis communicator cannot just be a press officer with better software. They must understand data and AI governance and be able to work across legal, IT, and operations to keep the board informed.

The full report, including detailed survey data and practitioner quotes, is available for free download here.

Philippe Borremans is an independent crisis, risk and emergency communication consultant and Managing Director of RiskComms.