How AI is transforming litigation PR

Wed, 15 Oct 2025

Artificial intelligence has changed the speed and scale of reputation management, but not its fundamentals. For organisations navigating legal disputes or public scrutiny, AI now powers real-time monitoring, predictive alerts and automated sentiment analysis. Yet as powerful as these systems are, they cannot replace judgement, tone or trust, especially when reputational and legal risks converge.

At Global Reputation Advisors (GRA), we see this shift every day in litigation communications: AI can detect, but only humans can decide.

The CEO’s dilemma: opportunity and risk

An April 2025 Forbes Council article highlighted a key challenge for CEOs: AI’s appeal in online reputation management is undeniable, but it carries significant risk. Real-time monitoring, predictive alerts and automated sentiment responses promise efficiency – yet overreliance can backfire.

The article cites a high-profile case in which a US attorney was sanctioned for submitting a ChatGPT-generated legal brief containing six non-existent case citations. What was intended as a time-saving shortcut instead caused serious reputational and professional damage.

The recommended approach is one we share: a hybrid model. AI should power detection, analytics and risk flagging, while humans retain control of messaging, tone and final decisions.

Litigation PR in the AI era

For litigation PR teams, this hybrid model is crucial. Modern AI tools can identify misinformation, detect disinformation campaigns and monitor narrative shifts long before they reach headlines or juries. This enables proactive strategy rather than reactive crisis control.

During litigation, every statement – whether in the media, online or in court filings – carries reputational and legal consequences. AI can flag risk, but only experienced communicators can judge context, tone and timing. That is where the human element remains irreplaceable.

Our role as litigation PR specialists is to bridge these worlds – ensuring that AI insights inform strategy, but never dictate it. We use data to see what is coming and we use judgement to decide how to act.

When AI becomes the source of defamation

However, AI does not just observe reputations – it can also be a source of reputational harm. In one high-profile 2025 case, American commentator Robby Starbuck sued Meta after an AI chatbot falsely claimed he was linked to political extremism. The case was settled privately, with Starbuck later joining Meta as an advisor on misinformation (Wall Street Journal).

The Starbuck case highlights the growing challenge of AI-generated defamation. When AI systems produce false statements about individuals or companies, the question of liability becomes complex: is the platform, developer or user responsible? Legal scholars in Australia have warned that companies such as Google and Meta could face defamation suits if their AI tools amplify false user-generated content or defamatory claims (The Guardian).

For organisations in litigation or under scrutiny, this matters deeply. False or misleading AI-generated content can spread faster than traditional media and linger in search results or AI-generated summaries long after being corrected.

That is why modern reputation management must extend beyond traditional press and social monitoring. Companies now need to track how they are represented inside AI systems themselves – from search engines and summarisation tools to large language models that ‘remember’ public narratives. PR teams must adapt to this new layer of exposure, ensuring that both human audiences and AI systems capture an accurate, balanced and legally sound version of the truth.

AI in the courtroom and legal practice

As AI is making inroads into the judicial process, it is raising questions of transparency, ethics and reputational risk. In a UK first, Judge Christopher McNall used Microsoft’s Copilot to summarise complex tax arguments in a tribunal case (Legal Futures). While McNall emphasised that the AI tool was used only for administrative summarisation, not legal reasoning, the case reignited debate about the boundaries of AI in judicial processes. A reputational misstep in this context, if an AI-generated summary contained inaccuracies, could damage confidence in the courts.

That concern was echoed by Dame Victoria Sharp, President of the King’s Bench Division of the UK High Court, who in June 2025 warned of the dangers of over-reliance on generative AI. In two separate cases lawyers submitted written arguments containing fabricated case citations produced by AI tools. The court condemned the practice, warning that misuse of AI by lawyers could undermine public confidence in the justice system, and that offenders could face sanctions including contempt of court (The Guardian).

Nevertheless, even as the judiciary contends with these emerging challenges, the broader legal sector continues to be reshaped by advances in AI. Outside the courtroom, legal technology startups are transforming case preparation. Platforms now help plaintiff-side lawyers automate filings and arguments, enabling claims to be assembled faster than ever (Reuters). For corporate defendants, this increases both legal and reputational pressure, making timely, strategic communications more critical than ever.

Managing reputation in an algorithmic world

An effective litigation PR team recognises that reputation today is shaped not only by people, but by algorithms. Search engines, AI models and content aggregators constantly scan and reinterpret online information, meaning even small inaccuracies can have widespread impact during litigation.

A skilled litigation PR partner will:

Place accurate, favourable stories in credible outlets that AI systems prioritise.
Monitor and correct outdated or false information before it spreads or gains traction.
Deliver balanced, reliable coverage during crises so both AI systems and human audiences capture a fair record of events.

By doing this, litigation PR ensures your organisation is represented accurately, consistently, and credibly – for both human audiences and the algorithms that increasingly shape public perception.

The human imperative

Ultimately, the future of litigation PR lies in balance. AI can process information at speed, detecting risks and emerging crises before they surface. But it cannot interpret motive, context or consequence – the human nuances that shape credibility in litigation PR. The most effective strategies use AI for insight and scale, guided by human judgement that keeps every response ethical, measured and authentic.

In this new environment, technology may serve as the eyes and ears, but your team remains the voice, the conscience and the ultimate guardian of trust.

At GRA, we help organisations act with clarity and control, aligning real-time insight and expert judgement to safeguard reputation in court, online and across all digital channels.