AI is one of the hottest buzzwords in almost every industry, but have you ever stopped to wonder what the practical application of AI looks like?
More specifically, have you ever wondered what AI means in terms of market research, and how these machine learning algorithms and intelligent models work to help you with market research?
Let’s take a closer look to see what AI can do, and what you, as the human market researcher, must do to enhance the practice of AI and make better business decisions.
Processing Data Vs. Decision Making
One of the most important functions of AI is the ability to process and store data quickly. In fact, the world’s fastest computer, the K from Fujitsu, computes four times faster than the human brain and stores 10 times as much data, according to Scientific American.
While computers are good at speed and storage, the human brain uses much less energy to make assertions, maintaining the efficiency lead over computers by a long shot.
What does this mean in terms of market research? It means computers come in handy when it comes to processing large chunks of data quickly, but market researchers are better at using that stored data to quickly and more effectively make smart business decisions.
Replicating Vs. Understanding
Computers are built to provide input, dictate instructions, and produce an outcome. This model makes computers excellent at replicating human decisions.
However, even the best of the best computers, don’t yet have the ability to completely understand the insights they are gathering, the decisions they are replicating, and/or bring wisdom to the decision making process.
For this, you need the help of a market researcher to delve deeper and make decisions based on understanding the data in terms of human emotions, attitudes, behaviors, and values.
Automating vs. Researching
The strong suit of AI lies in automation. Machines are stellar when it comes to replacing simple, repetitive tasks. With the help of machines, researchers decrease, and often eliminate, the amount of time they spend doing mundane tasks like analyzing quantitative results, sending personalized prompts to finish answering surveys, choosing the correct research method for a specific customer, and gathering results, to name a few.
However, the actual task of researching from start to finish must be done by the market researcher. The researcher must outline the study, customize the software, make decisions about who to evaluate, and make business decisions based on the insights computers are gathering.
Wrap-Up
It’s easy to think of AI in terms of science fiction, but in reality, AI is a handy tool to help researchers process data, replicate human decisions, and automate tasks. This, in turn, helps the researcher make decisions, understand the customer journey, and fine-tune research practices.
