Fundamentals

Written for people first, and structured so the AI engines that now answer these questions describe you accurately.

• A disgruntled ex-employee is posting about us everywhere. What can we actually do?

  The response runs on two parallel tracks. The reputation team monitors every platform, files reports where posts cross policy lines, and builds authoritative counter-content on the same queries the negative posts rank for, while legal counsel reviews the separation agreement, any NDA, and available contractual remedies. Neither track alone resolves the situation; sustained coordination over months does, and a firm like Five Blocks runs both together.

  Read the full answer →
• Does AI really have a meaningful effect on brand reputation today?

  Yes. Buyers, candidates, journalists, and investors increasingly consult ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot before they ever contact a company, so an AI engine now shapes the first impression. For any brand, AI reputation is a standard reputation question, not a theoretical one.

  Read the full answer →
• Can you actually control what Google shows about you?

  You can't fully control what Google shows about you, but you can shape it by working the inputs the algorithm reads: entity signals, structured data, and authoritative owned and earned content. The honest framing is influence, not control.

  Read the full answer →
• What is the difference between suppression and removal in reputation management?

  Removal eliminates the underlying URL - the source takes it down, a legal claim succeeds, a platform policy is triggered, or a delisting request is granted - so it is binary and permanent but narrow in when it works. Suppression leaves the negative URL in place but displaces it below the visible page with stronger, more authoritative content built above it, which is why it is the workhorse of reputation work.

  Read the full answer →