The Rising Stakes of AI-Enabled Reputation Management
Organizations operating in today’s digital landscape face an unprecedented paradox: artificial intelligence promises transformative efficiency gains and enhanced stakeholder engagement, yet simultaneously introduces sophisticated new vectors for reputational attack. As generative AI tools proliferate and hostile actors weaponize these technologies to manufacture disinformation, manipulate search rankings, and orchestrate coordinated campaigns across mainstream and fringe platforms, enterprise leaders require specialized expertise that bridges strategic communications and technical threat intelligence.
FGS Global, a leading stakeholder strategy firm, has responded to this inflection point by launching a dedicated AI Advisory practice and acquiring Memetica, a specialist consultancy focused on AI-driven threat detection across social media, dark web, and fringe platforms. The new practice operates under FGS Global’s AI and Innovation group, led by Aaron Kwittken as Global Head of AI and Innovation, consolidating years of deliberate investment in artificial intelligence capabilities.
Strategic Infrastructure Built for Dual-Track AI Challenges
The AI Advisory practice addresses what Kwittken describes as a “dual imperative”—enabling organizations to harness AI for workflow optimization and stakeholder engagement while simultaneously defending against AI-generated threats to reputation and operations. This integrated approach draws on a global team exceeding 200 specialists, including strategists, analysts, engineers, developers, designers, and data scientists working across AI strategy, digital influence, crisis management, and media engagement.
Supporting these capabilities is FGS Labs, the firm’s global development team responsible for building client-facing and internal technologies. The group developed Fergus, an AI-powered agentic platform currently assisting more than 1,500 FGS consultants across 31 cities worldwide. This internal infrastructure demonstrates the firm’s commitment to operationalizing AI within its own processes before advising clients on similar transformations.
Enhanced Threat Intelligence Through Memetica Integration
The Memetica acquisition specifically strengthens FGS Global’s capacity to identify emerging risks before they escalate into crises. Memetica brings sophisticated monitoring and analysis capabilities for online channels, including deep web and dark web platforms where hostile narratives often originate before surfacing on mainstream social media. The consultancy specializes in enhanced early warning detection, tipping point analysis, and mitigation strategies for managing nefarious social media activity, cybersecurity incidents, AI-generated disinformation campaigns, SEO manipulation, doxxing, and violent threats.
According to Alex Geiser, Global CEO of FGS Global, the integration arrives as clients urgently need sharper insights to manage threats across a digital landscape evolving daily. Ben Decker, founder of Memetica and a long-term FGS partner, emphasized the firm’s positioning to deliver integrated, AI-driven reputational and risk advisory services across sectors.
Four Pillars of Comprehensive AI Advisory
The AI Advisory practice structures its offerings around four critical capabilities. Generative Engine Optimization focuses on ensuring brand discoverability and authority in the era of generative search through multimodal content strategies and real-time brand monitoring. AI Risk and Crisis Management provides frameworks to detect and counter deepfakes, manage AI-driven misinformation, and establish transparent AI governance protocols.
Strategic Intelligence and Analytics equips clients with predictive insights, advanced stakeholder mapping, and scenario planning powered by proprietary analytics tools. Organizational AI Transformation guides enterprises through technology audits, vendor selection, workforce upskilling, and change management processes, ensuring communications teams can harness AI responsibly while maintaining competitive advantage.
This consolidation of capabilities reflects a fundamental shift in how organizations must approach reputation management—treating technical threat detection, strategic communications, and AI implementation as interconnected disciplines rather than isolated functions operating in separate organizational silos.
About FGS Global
FGS Global is the world’s leading stakeholder strategy firm, with over 1,500 professionals around the world, advising clients in navigating critical issues and reputational challenges. FGS was formed from the combination of Finsbury, The Glover Park Group, Hering Schuppener and Sard Verbinnen & Co to offer board-level and C-suite counsel in all aspects of stakeholder strategy — including corporate reputation, crisis management and public affairs. It is also the leading force in transaction and financial communications worldwide.
FGS offers seamless and integrated support with offices in the following locations: Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Brussels, Calgary, Chicago, Dubai, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Houston, Kingston, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Paris, Riyadh, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore, South Florida, The Hague, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, D.C. and Zurich. The firm is headquartered in New York. FGS is consistently ranked as a Band 1 PR firm for Crisis & Risk Management and for Litigation Support by Chambers and Partners. For the second year, FGS was ranked #1 Global M&A PR firm by Deal Count and Value in 2024 by Mergermarket.
About Fergus
Fergus is FGS Global’s proprietary agentic AI platform, built by FGS Labs in 2023 to enhance our strategic advisory capabilities. It serves as an intelligent research and analysis tool that helps our consultants access our firm’s collective knowledge, synthesize complex information faster and develop sharper strategic recommendations, allowing our teams to spend more time on high-value strategic thinking and less on routine information gathering. It draws on multiple advanced models to handle text, image and data inputs in a secure environment.
About Memetica
Memetica was founded in 2019 by Ben Decker, a technology researcher and former investigative journalist at The New York Times with proven expertise in monitoring and analyzing online platforms – including the “deep” and “dark” web – to help clients anticipate and manage emerging threats.
