Who Does AI Trust? UGC, Communities, PR and the New Authority Layer

A roundtable discussion featuring: Erin Bruehl, Current; Mariana Cornejo, Pepper; Robert Yanik, LinkedIn; Vlad Moldavskiy, Halo Investing When AI systems generate an answer, they aren't just pulling from a brand's website — they're synthesizing signals from Reddit threads, review sites, publisher coverage, and expert commentary. This means that trust is now built– or lost– in an authority layer largely outside the corporate domain. This session explores how AI systems weigh UGC, communities, and PR coverage when constructing answers; what this means for PR and communications teams whose earned coverage now doubles as a key input into AI visibility; how brands can show up authentically in communities without turning them into another promotional channel; and how to measure authority beyond the owned domain. Attendees will leave with a clearer view of where trust is built in the AI era, and a framework for showing up credibly across the sources that matter.