The Trust Crisis in Online Communities: What Brands Are Getting Wrong

Speaking with CX Today, Susan Ganeshan, CMO at Emplifi, explores why customer trust in digital community spaces is under mounting pressure, and what brands must do to course correct. As more of the customer journey takes place on community platforms like Reddit, review sites, and social channels, the stakes for getting this right have never been higher. Ganeshan draws on Emplifi’s latest consumer research with 85% of consumers saying they are willing to pay more for brands they consider authentic, and 93% saying that genuine engagement is what builds their trust in the first place.

In regard to AI transparency, Emplifi’s recent report found that disclosure has become a non-negotiable for today’s shoppers. Ganeshan highlights that 91% of consumers now expect a brand to be explicit about when and how it is using AI, whether that’s responding to a community post, routing a query, or generating dynamic content on a website. For brands still treating AI-powered interactions as invisible, this represents a significant trust gap. The data suggests that consumers apply the same rigorous expectations to community spaces as they do to direct brand touchpoints, and that inconsistency across channels is one of the fastest ways to erode confidence.

Ganeshan also argues that user-generated content is a trust accelerant, where consumers are far more likely to trust images and peer reviews than polished brand photography, they want to see products in real homes, real cars, and real lives, not studio settings. Combined with the growing influence of Reddit and similar platforms, this means brands can no longer afford to be passive bystanders in the spaces where their reputation is being shaped daily. The conversation is happening whether they participate or not, and showing up authentically, with clear privacy guardrails and consistent messaging separating trusted brands from those losing ground.

Looking ahead, Ganeshan anticipates that trust will move from being a peripheral concern to a core design principle for CMOs. Governance tools and AI-powered workflows will play a growing role in helping teams identify where human intervention is needed and where automation can operate safely at scale. The brands that win, she argues, will be those that approach every community interaction with the same transparency, consistency, and accountability they bring to every other part of the customer experience.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Hello everyone and welcome back to CX. Today, my name is Francesca Roche. I'm a technology journalist today discussing customer trust in digital community spaces. Now, many organizations are reassessing how they engage users online with businesses being able to link ROI back to community conversations and privacy expectations continuing to rise across the customer journey. These enterprises are looking for clearer ways to maintain loyalty while staying active on community platforms. And to help me uncover what is happening in this sector, I'm today joined by Susan Ganesham, the chief marketing officer at Emplify, helping brands manage interactions across key digital channels. But before we get into the discussion today, Susan, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 0:55

I'm doing very well today. Thank you so much for having me on the show.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Thank you very much. It's lovely to see you again. Now, today, more brands are discovering that many customer journeys are now starting online in community spaces with these key moments setting the tone for the rest of the journey. Susan, how would you describe the current state of customer trust in online communities today? And what factors do you believe have contributed to the declining confidence in digital community platforms?

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Yes, uh so look, it's more challenging for brands than ever to be everywhere. But as a marketer, you have to be because the conversations are happening whether you know about them or not. Um but what we're seeing with the consumers is that there's very clearly a shift. Um, 79% of consumers now should say that they will read multiple reviews and go to multiple digital workspaces um before they make a purchase decision. And this is not just for you know regular or very expensive articles that they might be consuming, but sometimes it's for those that are less expensive but more impactful to their life. Um so I'm gonna spend a lot more time uh looking at a particular supplement or a particular face cream because those things can have a direct impact on my well-being. Um, and what we're seeing is that platforms like Reddit are gaining a ton of influence. Um, so this is the a place where trust is being challenged and you you need to spend time there and you need to understand what the conversations are there. Um because they're happening whether you're in touch with it or not.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

So I think um users are now looking for those clear signals that platforms are um that they're able to trust these platforms that they can handle their data responsibly and that these conversations that are happening are real.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

That's right.

unknown 3:09

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Um, why do you think expectations around privacy have grown in other areas of business, but have not progressed at the same pace within online communities?

SPEAKER_00 3:23

You know, I think privacy is increasing faster in transactional areas, you know, places where consumers know exactly what they're giving to the brands or to that community in order to get something in return. Um but those expectations, you know, have caught up quickly. So 91% of consumers now expect a brand to disclose exactly when and how they're using AI. So if you're replying to a community post with AI, um you want to note that. Um, you know, that this data is coming from an AI engine assessing your brand stance. Um, if you're if you're routing to a human, you want to let them know that this is you know something that's official from the brand. So um I don't think that the consumers expect less from a community as they would from being interacting directly with the brand, either on the brand's website or through social media channels. Um, they expect the same rigor in all of those areas.

SPEAKER_01 4:37

Absolutely. I think that 91% statistic does show that community spaces do need to align with the stronger privacy standards already common in other parts of the customer journey. How do transparency and data handling practice influence customer perceptions of online platforms?

SPEAKER_00 4:56

I think I believe um that they're central to how trust is being formed with the consumers. So they don't just look at what they're seeing out there, they're evaluating the mode of delivery. So, for example, um, I am going to trust content that looks like it's from other consumers who are like me more than I'm going to trust the very nice branded content. Um, I'm going to trust pictures a little bit more than um text. And this is not just me, this is, you know, when we do surveys of consumers and when they're um, you know, give giving us information on how they're shopping most recently, they're telling us this. Um, so what we we recently did a survey, and 93% of the consumers in that survey said that authentic engagement will build their trust. Um, so that just underscores overall that the any experience and engagement and participation in a community, it needs to feel real, it needs to be clear, it needs to be consistent with the rest of the way the brand presents itself. Um, and there's a lot of opportunity for brands to be in the, you know, one of the voices out there, but they also need to do it in a highly scalable way because the numbers of platforms just keep growing. The numbers of places where data about your brand is sitting just keeps growing. And so open, consistent, sort of reinforced brand message is possible today, um, but you've got to have the right tools in place and uh be a brand that believes in that and participates in that. Um, my my one, you know, around the transparency and data handling, I would say that you know, we we're all as consumers experiencing more and more um surprise at what people know about um about us because the way the algorithms work and what they're gathering. Um just for example, with Instagram, if you watch a video um for longer than so many seconds, now that kind of content is going to be routed to you in a much faster pace. Um and so, you know, the their algorithms and other algorithms across these communities and platforms are are um sort of capturing a lot about you, whether you have um you know explicitly granted the privilege of you know that particular piece of data is something you want them to know about or not. Um, so just understanding what is being captured and being very honest with people. We learned this about you from here, um, is what you know continues to build that trust and then allows that those people to engage with you in, you know, in ways that will ultimately improve your bottom line and improve their trust in your brand so that they want to continue to purchase with you or purchase with you for the first time.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Absolutely. I think having that consistent open communication with the customers on the platform about that data will help them feel more secure online. I thought that was quite interesting, also, what you mentioned about the images also reinforcing trust. That's quite that's new information to me. So thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

Why don't we, I think we should um double down there for a second. So the the content, you know, brands who spend a lot more time finding user-generated content that you know displays their product and goods in use with a uh the customer are uh and the consumer are finding a lot more brand trust exists. Um and they're doubling down on finding this content and they're putting it everywhere. So for example, um if I'm um you know a furniture uh provider, or let's say I manufacture car seats, um, I don't want to see that item um pictured from you know the professional brand pictures. I want to see the car seat in the car. I want to see the furniture in a room. I want to see a you know a new bed with bedding on it. So I understand, you know, will the bedding I have work or not? And what will that look like in my room and in somebody's a normal person's home instead of with the perfect lighting and the brand pictures? In other words, um I that builds that trust. And then you want to use it everywhere. You want to use it on your digital spaces, you want to use it in your social media, you want to use it in communities. Um because that again, that trust building of seeing people like you and consumers like you in real life situations is what really builds that trust. So user-generated content, hugely important uh for building trust.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Absolutely. I think um sort of leaning into that authenticity, like proving that your product is real, I think that's there's definitely a barrier with that online where you can't confirm, especially if you don't know the brand. You if you actually see someone actually using the product, I think that really does bode well for the brand online. How can enterprises balance the need for open community interaction with stronger privacy and data protection standards?

SPEAKER_00 10:16

This is a really hard balance. It's um, you know, it's kind of like walk walking a typerope while juggling. Um, but I believe that it comes down to clear guardrails and visible transparency. So uh any brand should define what's public, define what's protected, tell the consumer how the data is going to be used. Um, and at the same time, you you know, explain your overall AI policies as a business. Um, so some of the what we're seeing, uh just for example, with chatbots, is that you're no longer giving the consumer who might interact with you on your website over you know, a chat. We're no longer just giving them static answers. We're actually using AI to produce brand-specific dynamic answers for those those individuals. And and why do you need to do this? Because you know, they're learning about you, say, um, through social channels, and then they're diving deep into community channels to learn what other consumers feel about you. Then eventually they're gonna make it to your website and they're gonna want to interact with you. Um and so the point is consumers they don't stay in one channel, they're in all of these places. So your standards and the way you define your privacy and your protection needs to be consistent across all of them. And that makes it consistent across the entire customer experience. Um, so you want to balance the you know openness with um telling that consumer exactly how you're using their data with overall uh privacy, and you know, literally just give people the option to opt into um, you know, the way you're communicating?

SPEAKER_01 12:09

Absolutely. I think many enterprises are facing that same challenge. It's now becoming vital that brands should be able to create engaging spaces while balancing um those firm safeguards. What role do you believe should governance, internal controls, and community play in strengthening customer confidence in digital communities?

SPEAKER_00 12:30

So I I would like to encourage all brands and the ones we're working with. We have we have an amazing set of brands that we work with at Amplify. Um, but what we're seeing people do is use AI search to uncover the areas where a human must be involved, and then use a strong governance engine to uncover and drive an AI-based workflow that can one assess the urgency of what's being said about the brand or the products in the community, and then perform dynamic routing of um how to handle that activity. So it might be just based on volume that I um I can at least get the consumer some answers or a path to answers using AI. Um, and then I we we absolutely believe that as AI continues to play a larger and larger role, it's amazing how far it's come just in the last six months. Um, but as they can play a larger role, you just need to continue to be transparent. Um, this answer was generated uh by our AI engine by looking at the last 500,000 interactions with consumers with this similar topic. Let them know that it's it's you know brand standard or um produced in that way. So just keep it keeping it visible, visible for the consumer, um, but then using internal workflow and governance tools to help uncover where you need to bring that human into the mix. Um, let me give you an example. Um, we work with some pet food supply companies. Um, and you know, people are so passionate about pets. Uh what we help them do is uncover every nook and cranny on the web where their brand might be mentioned so that they understand do I need to route this discussion topic that's happening out there to one of my veterinary on staff veterinarians? Or can I answer them with some basic information using my AI? Or do I want to route them to one of my internal consumer um affairs team? So you get you get the ability to perform that dissection, if you will, at scale when you use AI. Trying to do it with humans um one by one is gonna be pretty hard.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

Absolutely. I think reassuring your users that um the brand is actively managing risks will help them progress into that competitive shift. And just before we close our discussion today, what long-term shifts do you expect to see in how enterprises approach customer trust in community-driven channels?

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Yeah, I so I want to go back to our recent survey on consumers and their interaction with brands. And one of the stats I found fascinating was that 85% of consumers are willing to pay more for brands when they deem them authentic. It's like full stop, let's let's think about that for a minute. Are if we're out there, is being authentic and deploying a little bit more um, you know, maybe software or tools worth it for a business? Absolutely, because 85% of consumers will pay more with you, they'll do more business with you. So let's just take Reddit as one example. This is a place where people are obviously going for answers. Um, you know, I even though I'm in this business, I may be a little bit behind, but I remember asking my uh, I was talking about a particular product with my 20-something year old son, and he said, Mom, just go to Reddit, they'll tell you. And it was, it was, you know, this is a couple years ago. Um fascinating to me what I could find out there. And and now more and more consumers, you know, here we are five years later or so, um, more and more consumers are that integrated with all of these communities. Um, so the point being, you know, again, I always say in marketing, there's no silver bullet. Guess what, Mrs. CMO, Mr. CMO, you have to be everywhere. Um, you have to uh be there at scale, you have to build the trust in all of these communities, you have to be very explicit about you know how you're engaging with brands. And you have to do this at scale and then also bring the conversation local when you can to help that person. So I hopefully um that gave a little bit a sense of you know the scale of all of this for brands, but also the fact that there are there's help out there. You don't have to go this alone. Technology has advanced so fast that uh, you know, we can do this with you and in on behalf of you and for you in a brand-trusted way.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Thank you. And I think it is likely that, like you said, trust will become that core design principle for CMOs on community platforms rather than just an add-on as more brands begin to recognize its value. Um now, unfortunately, that is all we have time for today, but I would like to thank Susan for joining me. It has been really valuable to hear her insights on customer trust, privacy expectations, and the future of online communities. So thank you so much for joining me today, Susan.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

Francesca, thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

And from all of us at CX Today, thanks for watching. Goodbye.