Augmented Judgment, Accelerated Execution: AI’s Role in Crisis, Issues and Risk Management - FleishmanHillard

Article

October 14, 2025

By Matt Rose and Alexander Lyall

Everyone’s talking about the promise of artificial intelligence. For crisis, issues and risk managers, that promise isn’t theoretical anymore. It’s already changing the game. The speed, scale and complexity of today’s challenges demand more than human effort alone. We need tools that sharpen judgment, spot risks sooner, simulate outcomes and move faster than we ever could on our own.

At FleishmanHillard, we call this Augmented Judgment, Accelerated Execution. It’s the balance of seasoned, human counsel with the foresight, scale and speed of AI. When used well, AI doesn’t replace human judgment, it strengthens it. AI compresses timelines, expands context, flags risks earlier and gives leaders the clarity they need under pressure.

Here’s how we’re putting this advantage into practice at FleishmanHillard, using trusted frameworks and strong data governance to help clients address crises, issues and risk with confidence.

AI is becoming an essential early warning system. It examines global news, regulatory updates, and social activity to detect emerging topics and weak signals before they escalate. By analyzing conversations across markets, languages, and, it connects jurisdictions patterns that siloed teams might miss, with speed and breadth that today’s lean human teams cannot match.

It can also track how issues are likely to evolve and flag pressure points like upcoming regulations, activist campaigns, or viral moments. In addition, it can be pointed to anticipate when separate concerns may converge, adding complexity to timing, messaging, audience response and stakeholder engagement. This kind of foresight helps leaders act early, communicate clearly and stay ahead before critical moments hit.

AI for Stakeholder Simulation

Spotting a potential issue is one thing. Understanding how different audiences might respond is the next. Employees may question values. Regulators may focus on compliance. Investors may worry about financial impact. Customers may be concerned about reliability.

AI helps make this analysis possible through FleishmanHillard’s SAGE Synthetic Audiences. These simulations, built on polling data, demographics, and behavioral insights, let teams pressure-test messaging in real time.

AI can also model how a story might spread. Coverage could draw regulatory attention, spark activism, or open the door for competitors. With this foresight, teams can weigh options early, decide how to respond, and plan outreach in the right order.

Reporters rarely work in isolation. Their previous stories, tone, and interview style often foreshadow how a new piece might unfold. AI can analyze this public data to forecast likely narratives, giving teams time to scenario-plan and prepare fact-based responses.

In one recent case, the FleishmanHillard team leveraged AI to generate a full-length draft of a potential investigative article based on a reporter’s in-depth inquiry, their past work, and facts they were likely to uncover. The projection closely matched the final story, serving as a clear model for the client and FH counselors to work against and affording weeks to prepare. Together, they aligned messaging, cleared responses and rehearsed scenarios. When the article ran, the team responded with focus and confidence, avoiding both unwanted attention and business disruption.

AI for Crisis Content Management

Crisis response is rarely just one statement. It quickly becomes a growing stack of analytics and materials: standby statements, employee letters, investor scripts, customer updates, government briefings, media talking points, FAQs and social posts. Managing it all can become chaotic, especially with lengthy approval chains.

AI tools like FH Crisis Navigator help bring order. Acting as a virtual program manager, it adapts approved language for different audiences with speed and consistency. Using this tool, a crisis counselor can generate drafts, maintain version control, and keep updates aligned across every document. This reduces drift, speeds up approvals, embeds expert counsel, and keeps teams focused. So, when leadership needs to respond – whether to investors, regulators, customers, or the public – everything is already in place and ready for review.

AI for Scenario-Based Training

Preparation has always been essential to crisis readiness. But traditional tabletop exercises often fall short of real-world complexity. AI-powered platforms like the FleishmanHillard Crisis Simulation Lab raise the bar. Run by experienced facilitators, these simulations evolve in real time based on participant decisions. They introduce realistic challenges like media calls, stakeholder emails and viral posts, all tailored to the organization’s sector and geography.

Simulations can launch in hours instead of weeks, making them useful for both training and real-time strategy support. Structured feedback focuses on fact management, stakeholder engagement, and adaptability – building the muscle memory teams need when reputations are on the line.

AI for Campaign Risk Screening

Crises don’t always come from the outside. Sometimes a product launch, influencer partnership, or purpose-driven campaign can spark backlash, trigger scrutiny, or misfire in a volatile moment.

FH Risk Radar helps teams assess these risks before campaigns go live. It reviews concepts against regulatory guidance, cultural signals, public sentiment, and platform-specific challenges. The system scores ideas across dimensions like reputational exposure, influencer fit, message durability, and cultural sensitivity. Instead of a simple go-or-no-go call, teams get a full risk profile and clear mitigation strategies. This shifts review from a late-stage checkpoint to a strategic advantage.

For communicators, risk leaders, and executives, AI is no longer a future promise. It’s a working tool, a strategic coach, and a force multiplier available to improve outcomes now. It surfaces early warning signs, simulates reactions, forecasts narratives, manages complex content, powers training, and screens campaigns. It delivers sharper, faster options for decision makers when every move counts.

AI’s role in crisis and risk management will only grow more sophisticated. But the message today is simple: the technology is here and can be applied to create immediate value. The leaders who use it will be better prepared to protect reputation in high-stakes moments.

At FleishmanHillard, we’re applying these tools every day to help clients anticipate challenges, navigate uncertainty, and emerge stronger. At the heart of it is Augmented Judgment, Accelerated Execution – the combination of trusted human counsel and the structured speed of AI. Together, they help organizations make better decisions, faster.

Matt Rose (top) – Americas Lead for Crisis, Issues & Risk Management: Matt is an SVP & Senior Partner in New York with more than 30 years’ experience in advising organizations on crisis and issues management, risk mitigation, and reputation recovery. He has guided companies through reputational crises, labor issues, regulatory challenges, ESG controversies, and high-profile litigation.

Alex Lyall – Lead, Risk Management, AI & Innovation: Alex is an SVP & Partner in New York with more than 15 years of experience in crisis communications, issues management, preparedness, and risk management, working across industries. As part of the leadership team, Alex will help define best practices, shape go-to-market strategies, and scales solutions, with a focus on AI integration and talent development.

FH Guidelines for AI in Crisis, Issues, and Risk Management Applications

At FleishmanHillard, we apply artificial intelligence with purpose, not hype. In crisis, issues, and risk management, that means combining human expertise and experience with proven frameworks, proprietary technology, necessary confidentiality, and responsible guardrails to help organizations respond with speed, confidence, and control.

During a crisis, there is no substitute for seasoned judgment. AI can surface information, suggest language, or model scenarios, but it cannot navigate the nuance of legal implications, stakeholder dynamics, or reputational risk in real time. That takes seasoned counselors who have sat in the room, weighed the tradeoffs, and led under pressure. When the stakes are high, experience is not just helpful, it is essential.

That is why each FleishmanHillard application of AI in the Crisis, Issues and Risk Management Practice is anchored in three principles:

• Experienced crisis counselors remain at the center of each use case, ensuring that technology enhances but never replaces human judgment.

• Our systems are designed in secure, quality-assured environments that safeguard client information and uphold rigorous ethical standards.

• AI is embedded within tested frameworks and workflows, allowing teams to move faster without sacrificing accuracy, accountability, or trust.

This disciplined approach ensures AI strengthens decision-making rather than creating new risks. With FleishmanHillard, organizations embrace innovation in crisis, issues, and risk management with confidence, knowing that innovation never comes at the expense of accuracy, ethics, or trust.