Zhanar Sabazova is a founder of Steppe Tech Lab, a startup and participant of Astana Hub. She lectures on AI in MBA programs at Business Growth Academy and holds an MBA with a research focus on artificial intelligence. She is also affiliated as an expert with Women in Tech, TechnoWomenKz, and QazAI Association. In an interview to El.kz, an expert shares how AI and data-driven PR are transforming reputation management.
Photo provided by Zhanar Sabazova
For a long time, media monitoring in many companies looked almost the same: employees opened dozens of links, took screenshots, copied posts into files, checked Telegram channels, added comments from social media and tried to turn all of this into a report before the next meeting. As the expert explained in the interview, this process is still common in many organizations, even if it is now described as an analytical review, a daily digest or a reputation report.
In the interview, the expert said the transition to AI products came after years of experience in IT PR, TECH PR and crisis communications, where the first hour of a reputational issue often becomes the most critical. According to the expert, many communication teams still spend this time not on analysis or strategic response, but on collecting evidence: identifying who posted first, whether the information was copied from another source, whether the discussion started in regional channels or national media, and whether the signal represents a real threat or simple noise.
The expert noted that this is why the future of PR should not revolve only around press releases. While official statements, media relations and public explanations will remain important, the center of gravity in communications is shifting. In the expert’s view, the key challenge today is not how effectively a company speaks after a crisis becomes visible, but how early it can detect risks, interpret signals and turn information into management decisions.
During the interview, the expert stressed that a perfectly designed monitoring report delivered twelve hours too late is no longer intelligence, but an archive. In a fast-moving information environment, delayed awareness can be almost equivalent to having no awareness at all. Even detailed reports with charts, publication lists and sentiment analysis may lose value if discussions have already spread across Telegram, regional media and online comments.
The interview also focused on the transformation of reputation monitoring from reporting into an early warning system. According to the expert, modern monitoring tools should answer not only the question “What was written about the company?” but also identify where the signal originated, which narrative is gaining momentum, which audience is involved, whether the negativity is recurring and which management level should be alerted immediately. The expert described these capabilities as elements of business risk management rather than traditional PR functions.
Speaking about data-driven PR, the expert emphasized that dashboards and analytics should not replace professional judgement. Instead, they should strengthen decision-making. In the interview, it was noted that communication leaders, CEOs and board members need clear visibility into risks, source authority, trust levels and recommended actions, rather than hundreds of scattered links.
Particular attention in the interview was given to reputation indexes. The expert explained that tools such as a Reputation Index, Trust Index and Risk Index help organizations understand changes in public perception, distinguish between isolated criticism and growing reputational threats, and evaluate the influence of different sources and regions more systematically.
The expert also pointed to broader global trends. Social listening, according to the interview, is no longer limited to counting mentions or measuring visibility. Referring to market forecasts by Mordor Intelligence, Gartner and McKinsey, the expert noted that companies are increasingly investing in predictive intelligence and AI agents capable of identifying weak signals before they escalate into full-scale crises.
At the same time, the expert warned against viewing AI agents as “magical PR employees” capable of independently resolving crises. In the interview, the expert stressed that AI should be understood as a controlled process rather than a fully autonomous decision-maker. AI systems can help detect spikes in negative mentions, identify likely original sources, summarize narratives and prepare incident briefings, but final communication decisions should remain with humans.
The interview also highlighted the importance of educating clients and teams. According to the expert, many companies purchase technological tools without fully understanding escalation logic, AI limitations or the role of human validation, which prevents dashboards and monitoring systems from being used effectively.
A separate part of the interview focused on Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The expert explained that local reputation intelligence requires deep understanding of Russian and Kazakh language nuances, Telegram ecosystems, regional media landscapes and the ways public trust is formed within the region. Global platforms may provide advanced technologies, the expert said, but effective monitoring in Central Asia still depends heavily on local expertise and contextual understanding.
Discussing the role of local AI startups, the expert stated that the main opportunity lies not in copying international SaaS platforms, but in building systems capable of understanding local markets deeply enough to support serious management decisions. In the case of Steppe Tech Lab, the expert explained, the product idea emerged from a practical challenge faced by communication teams: companies need more than folders filled with links - they need systems that help identify risks before they become crises.
Concluding the interview, the expert stated that AI will not eliminate uncertainty or replace strategic communications, but it can help organizations detect weak signals earlier, reduce manual workload and improve situational awareness. According to the expert, monitoring should no longer remain a final reporting stage, but become part of the decision-making process itself. The future of PR, the expert concluded, will be defined not by less human involvement, but by more informed, disciplined and data-supported communication practices.
