The telco accuracy crisis: when AI repeats outdated information about your brand

AI platforms often merge information from multiple public sources, many of which are incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate. A single news article with six-month-old pricing, a mislabelled product review, or a social post incorrectly linking a competitor's outage to your network can all distort your brand's profile. 

These inconsistencies create what we call reputation lag—a delay between reality and the version of your brand that AI systems repeat to customers. 

Why accuracy matters more than ever 

Because AI platforms operate autonomously, misinformation can spread faster than you can correct it, reaching thousands of potential customers before you are even aware. 

In the traditional web, outdated information lived on individual pages that customers might or might not find. In the AI era, misinformation doesn't just spread. It scales. 

One outdated page becomes a thousand AI answers. All of them confidently wrong. 

The strategic response: become the primary source of truth 

Accuracy is now a core pillar of brand trust. The operators that maintain factual consistency across every digital source will be the ones AI platforms learn to rely on, and the ones customers choose first. 

Take control of your information ecosystem: 

Monitor continuously: Track how ChatGPT, Google AI, Perplexity, and similar agents describe your coverage, pricing, customer service, and technical capabilities. 

Every hour of inaccuracy compounds across thousands of AI outputs. 

Correct at the source: Update your website and public data immediately when inaccuracies are found. Contact publishers to amend errors in articles and reviews, and use official channels to update Wikipedia or trusted comparison platforms.   AI learns from what's published—if the source is wrong, every answer will be wrong. 

Engage openly: Address misinformation on social media transparently and factually, reinforcing credibility through clear communication. Public corrections signal to both AI systems and customers that accuracy matters to you. 

Maintain authoritative content: Keep structured, up-to-date knowledge bases that AI systems can reference confidently. AI prioritises sources that are current, consistent, and comprehensive. 

Operator A continuously tracks how AI platforms describe their brand. When inaccuracies appear, they fix them at source, ensuring information remains consistent and up to date. 

Operator B rarely detects or corrects errors. Outdated information from third-party sources continues to misrepresent them, leaving misinformation unchecked. 

A tale of two telcos in 2026 

By early 2026, the gap between AI-powered and traditional telecoms operators has become impossible to ignore. 

Operator A has spent the past 18 months building a future-ready business by tackling the four challenges head-on. Their churn rate is at an all-time low. Customer satisfaction and average revenue per user are rising. Their contact centre has evolved into a value engine, supported by AI tools that surface the right upsell opportunities at the right time. 

Most importantly, when potential customers ask AI assistants for recommendations, Operator A appears first with clear, accurate, and compelling information. 

Operator B has also "implemented AI", but only at surface level. A chatbot here, some machine learning there. Their data remains locked in silos, and their AI initiatives lack strategic integration. 

Customers using AI assistants never see them as an option. Churn is accelerating, and their cost base remains high because AI is not embedded deeply enough to improve efficiency. They are stuck in a cycle of decline while AI-powered competitors move ahead. 

The winners of the AI era won’t be the biggest, they’ll be the most adaptive. 

The window for competitive advantage in AI is closing quickly. The organisations that act now will define the standards everyone else follows. 

The winners will: 

• Invest in cultural change alongside technology. Equip people with the skills and confidence to work collaboratively with AI. 

• Build ecosystems, not isolated tools. Integrate data, operations, and experience so that AI capabilities reinforce one another across the customer journey. 

• Focus on customer value, not just efficiency. Use AI to deliver experiences so relevant and anticipatory that customers never need to ask an external assistant for help. 

• Start now. Those building foundations today will not just survive the AI transformation but lead it. 

"Early movers will define the AI era in telecommunications. The rest will compete on their terms." 

The choice facing the industry 

The 2026 divide is no longer hypothetical. It is forming right now through the decisions being made in boardrooms across the telecommunications sector. The operators that will thrive are those that recognise AI not as a passing technology trend, but as a complete reshaping of how services are discovered, evaluated, purchased, and experienced. 

Winning telcos are investing in technology, data infrastructure, organisational capability, and customer experience simultaneously. They are not waiting for perfect standards or external validation. They are experimenting, learning fast, and building momentum. 

Most importantly, they are addressing the four critical challenges of sentiment, connection, visibility, and accuracy. These determine whether they even appear inside AI conversations where customers are making decisions. 

Telecommunications now stands at a true inflection point. AI is redefining customer relationships, product discovery, and service delivery in real time. By 2026, the market will be split between two groups: those powered by AI and those losing customers to them. 

The window for advantage is still open, but not for long. The operators that begin today—by building strong foundations, testing new models, and empowering their people—will not only survive the transformation but thrive through it. 

The question is no longer whether AI will reshape telecommunications. It is whether your organisation will be among the shapers or the shaped. 

Awareness is no longer enough. Action is now a competitive advantage 

We are helping leading operators audit their readiness for AI-driven discovery and customer engagement. Find out how your brand appears inside AI platforms and what actions will move you into the conversations that matter. 

Request an AI readiness audit | Evaluate your visibility, sentiment, and data accuracy across major AI ecosystems.