In our recent webinar, Black Sun’s Anne Kirkeby brought together Adam Riches, Vice President in Glass Lewis’s corporate division, and Richard Dixon, Chief Digital Officer at Black Sun, to explore how AI is changing investor scrutiny and proxy decision-making.
It was an incredibly interesting discussion, focusing on how AI is changing the way investors and proxy advisers assess companies, enabling faster research and more continuous monitoring. For corporate reporting and investor relations teams, the implication is clear: fewer questions do not necessarily mean less scrutiny.
Among the topics covered, one theme emerged above all others: materiality is a principle that should shape the entire report. The organisations producing the strongest reports are not necessarily those with the shortest reports. It is those that focus on what matters most to their stakeholders, and position their reporting accordingly.
AI is developing against a backdrop of increasingly complex shareholder engagement. Glass Lewis described an environment in which investor priorities are diverging. For example, stewardship responsibilities are becoming more fragmented, whilst pass-through voting is adding another layer of uncertainty about who ultimately makes voting decisions.
For organisations, this makes understanding their shareholder base more important. Different teams within the same investment organisation may have different responsibilities, while investors across markets may assess governance, sustainability and financial performance through different frameworks.
The challenge is to understand who is making the assessment, which issues matter to them and what evidence informs their decisions. A meeting with one part of an investment house may not reach everyone involved in voting the company’s shares.
Glass Lewis are using AI to accelerate data collection and support more comprehensive research. Information from filings and disclosures can be collected in minutes rather than hours, while analysis can draw on a wider range of peer comparisons, historical developments and industry trends.
This expands the scope of assessment. Rather than looking only at a company’s latest disclosure, researchers can now examine how its position has evolved, compare it with peers and explore the relationship between stated commitments and subsequent execution.
Human judgement remains central to that process. Analysts do not simply check an automated output at the end. Their expertise helps establish the rules and frameworks within which AI operates, with source traceability and the ability to intervene where context or nuance requires it. Glass Lewis’s proxy research continues to be analyst-generated and reviewed before reaching clients.
For companies, the implications of investors’ use of AI will mean “more scrutiny but with less warning”.
As routine analysis becomes more efficient, investors can spend less time on straightforward voting items and devote more attention to complex or contentious issues. A quieter engagement meeting should therefore not be mistaken for an absence of analysis or concern.
Continuous monitoring also changes the timing of engagement. Investors can identify developments as information is published, rather than waiting for familiar points in the reporting or AGM calendar. Companies may face detailed questions at less predictable times, so must be ready to explain their disclosures, decisions and contribution to shareholder value throughout the year.
That assessment increasingly extends beyond the annual report. Glass Lewis draws on a wider range of sources, including regulatory announcements, corporate website updates and material from investor events. Again, these sources all help to support ongoing analysis.
The implication for communications teams is significant: information published in different places can be brought together and compared. Inconsistencies between a company’s annual report, website, presentations and other disclosures are therefore more likely to attract attention.
A consistent narrative does not mean delivering an identical presentation to every investor. It means maintaining the same underlying facts, strategy and rationale, while emphasising the elements most relevant to each audience.
It is imperative that companies take ownership of their AI narrative by ensuring they are the authoritative source cited in AI-generated responses. This means publishing clear, consistent and accessible information that AI systems can easily find, understand and use.
However you cannot treat AI as a single, separate communications channel. Institutional investors may use specialist research tools, while other audiences may ask questions through public AI platforms. Companies need to consider those different routes to information alongside the needs of people visiting their websites directly.
Richard highlighted several practical priorities:
A note of caution, optimising for AI must not be done at the expense of human viewers.
The discussion also explored how annual reports and websites should work together.
The annual report is the place where the overarching corporate narrative comes together. The website and online report should make its priority messages and measures readily accessible, with the latest strategy and investment case reflected consistently across channels.
As companies consider streamlining annual reports, websites can provide space for supporting case studies and richer content. But this needs a coordinated approach: decisions about what belongs where should preserve the core narrative and make it easy for audiences to move between concise explanations and detailed documentation.
Alongside clearer communications, companies were encouraged to take a more quantitative approach to preparing for shareholder votes.
By examining investors’ published voting policies, historical voting records and outcomes at peer companies, teams can build a better understanding of potential concerns. Executive remuneration was one example: analysing the features of pay arrangements that investors have previously supported or opposed can help companies anticipate questions about their own proposals.
Used early, this intelligence can inform engagement, strengthen disclosures and provide boards with a more evidence-based assessment of voting risk. Again, this should complement, but not replace, direct investor feedback and relationships.
To conclude the webinar, both Glass Lewis and Black Sun gave 5 key takeaways for listeners to consider
Glass Lewis takeaways:
Black Sun takeaways:
If AI and your wider communications strategy is currently high on your agenda, Black Sun offers an AI Authority Analysis, helping businesses understand how their brand is represented by AI search tools. Please get in touch with Bob Crosbie Dawson, bcrosbie-dawson@blacksun-global.com for further details.
About Black Sun
Black Sun Global is a stakeholder advisory and engagement agency that's been driving transformation and positive change for ambitious brands for more than 20 years. With deep expertise in disclosure and reporting, ESG, sustainability, and digital engagement, we reshape how organisations connect with customers, investors, employees, and the wider world.
We are trusted partners to some of the most influential global organisations, sparking innovation and sustainable performance through our strategic insights, partnerships, and proprietary technologies.
As founders of the Positive Change Group, we are on a mission to create a new kind of stakeholder relations partner. Our world-class specialists work closely with executive leadership teams to protect reputations, inspire trust, and promote responsible business practices - building resilience and long-term value in a rapidly changing world.
For more information, please visit: www.blacksun-global.com
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