Brands can no longer rely on a single approach; they need to understand different cultures, values and audience expectations, said Gillian Fish, business growth strategist and founder of The 6AM Agency, in a presentation on ‘Brand Trust in the Age of AI, Outrage and Infinite Noise’.
“Growing insularity means that we’ve got to rethink our business strategy,” she said. “If you look at the evolution of the health information ecosystem over the last five years, now many young people feel that the average person can know as much as a doctor.”
As health information becomes more accessible, audiences are also more likely to scrutinize brands’ claims, she said.
Peers, family, scientists and online communities also influence purchasing decisions, making clear evidence and transparent communication increasingly important.
“For brands, the implication is clear: trust can no longer be assumed. It has to be deliberately earned, protected and sustained,” she said.
AI is changing the health-information journey
Fish said the growing use of AI to access health information and receive immediate answers to general health questions is adding to this shift, noting that according to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer Global Report, 81% of AI users will receive recommendations related to areas such as sleep, exercise and nutrition.
“We know AI is playing a future role in search and discovery in many different ways,” she said.
“OpenAI put out a statistic that 230 million people a week are asking health questions through its dedicated ChatGPT Health feature, so it simply cannot be ignored.”
On the other hand, only around 35% of people consult a GP for information on diet, nutrition, vitamins and minerals, while AI attracts a significantly higher level of engagement, Fish said.
The trust gap
Fish highlighted a significant gap between executive perceptions and consumer reality, citing a PwC report showing that 90% of business leaders believe people trust their companies and brands, compared with only 30% of consumers.
This makes trust a strategic business issue that belongs on the board and C-suite agenda, rather than being treated solely as a marketing responsibility.
“Forty-nine percent of consumers have started purchasing a brand or product from a company because of trust,” she said, citing recent data from Adobe.
Trust is also being threatened by misinformation, information overload and the growing influence of AI-generated authority, Fish said.
“Anyone can be an expert. There is infinite noise, with every claim competing for attention,” she said. “So consumers are starting to demand proof, not polish.”
Evidence will therefore be central to building and maintaining trust, particularly in science and nutraceuticals, where withdrawn or retracted research can undermine credibility.
“Trust is an asset and competitive advantage that attracts employees, investors and business opportunities,” she said.
However, trust is not created through communications alone, but through a brand strategy that clearly defines what the organization stands for, who it serves, what matters to its audiences and what it will or will not do under pressure, Fish explained.
“Trust is born out of the strategy, not what you see communicated about that strategy,” she said.
“No amount of clever content, omnichannel execution or storytelling can compensate for a brand that has not really decided what it stands for.”
Winning visibility in AI search
Fish noted that companies can apply several tactics for improving brand discoverability and trust, including third-party certification, collaboration with credible key opinion leaders, editorial coverage, published peer-reviewed evidence, and ensuring information online is consistent and easy for AI systems to access.
She explained that a small number of influential websites provide a large share of the sources that AI systems use when generating answers, including platforms such as Reddit, Wikipedia, YouTube, LinkedIn and Forbes.
“Reddit is increasingly important,” Fish said. “If you look at the top 15 domains, they capture 68% of consolidated AI citation, with Reddit representing around 40% of multi-engine aggregate citations.”
Brands can be highly visible but poorly trusted, or highly trusted but difficult to find. For AI systems to find and understand a brand, its information must be credible enough for both systems and consumers to trust.
“Trustworthiness combined with discoverability is what makes an AI-ready brand,” she said, adding that in the age of AI, trust is about what can be verified.
“The companies that win will be the ones that can be checked — the ones that can stand up to scrutiny.”
Fish noted that to establish their validity, leadership teams can conduct audits to assess whether their brand strategy clearly defines what the organization stands for.
“For companies, this means asking: can we prove every claim we make? Do we have clear ownership of our AI systems and processes, and if not, what are we going to do about it? And is our story and narrative consistent across every channel and throughout the organization?”
