AI Pioneers are Elevating Comms to Drive a New Era of Trust and Measurable Business Growth

AI adoption slows when trust lags behind innovation. As artificial intelligence begins influencing revenue, risk, and real financial outcomes, stakeholders need clarity before they’ll commit. Companies that scale successfully treat communication as a strategic function, translating complex systems into language that builds confidence and drives measurable results.

Ashley Jacobson, Senior Director of Corporate Marketing and Communications at PubMatic, leads global marketing strategy focused on brand visibility and the adoption of AI-enabled innovation across the company’s programmatic advertising ecosystem. With industry recognition from Adweek, Digiday, PRWeek, and PR Daily’s Top Women to Watch list, Jacobson has built her career around connecting communications strategy directly to business outcomes.

“Trust is everything with new technology. In ad tech, our products move real money. People don’t need to understand the technical protocols, but they need clarity around what the technology is doing," says Jacobson. Establishing that trust requires building a shared language between technical teams and external audiences. Without it, even the most advanced tools risk slow adoption or market resistance.

• From reputation to revenue: Communication teams are under increasing pressure to demonstrate measurable business results, rather than relying on brand awareness alone. Focusing on outcomes rather than technical details helps teams overcome resistance and speed adoption. “There’s urgency to move beyond qualitative perception and connect communications directly to business outcomes,” Jacobson says. “We have to ask whether our storytelling is driving investor confidence, strengthening partnerships, or influencing revenue. That’s the work that matters.” This focus is reshaping metrics for marketing and communications teams, placing greater emphasis on data-driven performance and cross-functional collaboration.

• Turning complexity into clarity: The end goals remain consistent, but workflows, decision-making, and cognitive responsibilities are evolving rapidly. “Email didn’t change the need to get work done, but it changed how work gets done. AI is doing the same thing. Communication helps translate complex systems into clear narratives so people can confidently adopt new ways of working,” she explains.

As AI continues to transform digital ecosystems, communications is emerging as the central force that turns innovation into measurable business growth. Organizations that prioritize trust, clarity, and internal alignment will be best positioned to move emerging technologies smoothly from concept to adoption.

• Leading cross-functional strategy: “Our role is aligning engineers, product marketers, and commercial teams into one cohesive strategy.” By participating from the earliest development stages, communications helped shape market positioning. “Being part of the initial product strategy makes adoption easier. If communication is brought in at the end, it takes longer to translate the value and connect it to customer needs.”

• A seat at the product development table: Jacobson explains that as AI products grow more complex and revenue impact grows more direct, messaging can’t be layered on after launch. “Communication is no longer a downstream function. Product adoption depends on having communicators involved from day one, helping shape the framework and the stories that bring technology to market." Organizations that make trust and understanding a priority are leading the way as AI changes industries.

As technology transforms business, making it clear and trustworthy matters as much as building it. “If you can’t translate your technology clearly, it won’t scale, and people won’t adopt it as intended,” Jacobson concludes. That’s why involving communications from the start and collaborating across teams turns complex innovations into measurable impact.