AI seems to be taking the world by storm. And it’s not only in the form of customer service chatbots and robotics. Market research AI is making waves in the form of artificial personas more commonly known as AI models. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, AI models are an alternative to real humans in market research.
AI models are created from large data sets of several different consumer sources, such as media consumption, census information, purchasing data, and so on. The goal is to replicate a human-like response when introduced to different words, phrases, or product concepts.
Is market research AI the future? Many think so, especially as more researchers are reliably generating marketing insights with pinpoint accuracy. Here’s an in-depth look at how AI models are revolutionizing market research.
The New Scientific Method
Richard Boyd is the founder of Tanjo, an artificial intelligence consultancy, and he says AI models are “essentially the new scientific method.” Common research practices require a working hypothesis before conducting a study. With market research AI, machine learning compiles multiple data sets to find every potential hypothesis. It takes out the guesswork.
Samir Patel, managing director of Blue State Digital, can attest to how much easier AI models make it to “see what kind of segmentation naturally evolves.” Patel’s agency is currently using AI tools to solve problems and even replace some of their traditional research methods.
Improving the Accuracy of Focus Groups
Market research AI improves the accuracy of focus groups. In a typical scenario, focus groups don’t always provide 100 percent true data. There’s always an element of human error. Participants aren’t always completely sure how they would react to messaging, products, or other situations. And quite frankly, they don’t always tell the truth. Nobody’s perfect.
Focus group experiments may not uncover results that correlate with actual purchasing data or consumer behaviors. The bottom line is people don’t always react or respond the way they think they do. Market research AI eliminates this potential error.
Eliminating Privacy Concerns
Privacy issues are often a roadblock for researchers. We have to be careful how we use personal data to show market insights. Privacy restrictions and personal data limitations pose a challenge for experimentation and research methods. This is especially relevant for international brands that must comply with new GDPR regulations. AI models solve this issue as they don’t exploit personal data at all.
Many marketers, advertisers, and brands continue to have their reservations about using artificial intelligence to gather market insights. As with any new innovation, it takes time for people to get on board. However, improving the scientific method, accuracy of research, and eliminating privacy concerns is a step in the right direction. The future of AI models in market research looks promising.
