A report from Medianet has laid bare the delicate balance Australian organisations must strike as they roll out Artificial Intelligence across their operations.
The AI Tightrope: Balancing AI, Reputation and Workforce Impact analysed more than 50,000 media and social media items between January and August 2025, offering one of the clearest snapshots yet of how AI is shaping public perception, corporate credibility and workplace expectations.
While 71% of print and online coverage emphasises AI’s benefits for productivity, innovation, and growth, negative themes were still quite impactful for companies adopting AI amid major job cuts and restructure announcements.
These unfavourable conversations were also amplified on social media, with 64% of social media posts showing negative sentiment around job cuts, customer service failures, and corporate transparency.
Key Findings
- Media optimism dominates: National outlets such as The Australian and AFR position AI as a productivity engine and economic necessity.
- Corporate voices shape the narrative: High-profile CEOs like Matt Comyn (CBA) and Andrew Irvine (NAB) are key drivers of positive coverage.
- Case studies on CBA and Telstra: Transparent communication around both successes and setbacks has helped the Commonwealth Bank neutralise backlash from AI-related job cuts, but inconsistent messaging from Telstra created a credibility gap, fuelling union criticism and negative headlines.
- Public sentiment diverges: On platforms like Facebook, Reddit and X, AI is more often linked to job insecurity, poor customer service via chatbots, and demands for stricter regulation.
- Unions as new power players: Media mentions of union commentary around AI surged 265% between May and June 2025, with unions gaining visibility in professional sectors where they’ve historically had little presence.
“AI has become as much a reputation story as a technology story,” said Amrita Sidhu, Managing Director at Medianet. “Our research shows corporate leaders are driving optimism in the headlines, but public cynicism is growing louder online. Navigating this gap is now a frontline issue for communication and corporate affairs professionals.”
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“While there is plenty of optimism surrounding AI, our findings also demonstrated how the media can also amplify when AI adoption backfires, and how an organisation can manage the outcry,” said Jacquie Hanna, Head of Insights at Medianet Insights.
“The media loves a bad news story, and when disgruntled employees speak out, a company’s carefully curated messaging can become very quickly unravelled. Emotive language from employees and unions have a tendency to go viral and spill onto social channels.”
Why It Matters
The findings highlight the tightrope companies walk when communicating about AI. Publicly embracing the technology can generate investor confidence and strengthen positioning as an innovator. Without consistent and transparent messaging, however, organisations risk reputational damage.
“For corporate and communication professionals, understanding these media dynamics is crucial,” added Hanna.
“Companies must anticipate and manage the perspectives of stakeholders, including unions, and articulate a clear ‘why’ behind any workforce changes, focusing on reskilling and higher-value roles rather than just headcount reduction.”
The report provides actionable recommendations for corporate affairs and communications leaders, including:
- Showcase expertise. Thought leadership can be a powerful way to fortify your reputation when having to make tough calls.
- Maintain long term consistent messaging. Unions and employees are quick to highlight inconsistencies when it comes to job cut announcements, and these become hot topics for the media.
- Transparency is key. Acknowledge the impact of AI, don’t avoid it. Emphasise efforts to reskill and retrain the workforce rather than focusing on the bottom line.
