Rebuilding the UX Research Stack: What the AI-Powered Future Looks Like
Let’s be honest—most UX research stacks weren’t designed for today’s workflows. What started as a thoughtful patchwork of scheduling tools, survey platforms, video analysis software, and spreadsheets has become a burden. Now that product teams are shipping faster, headcount is leaner, and AI is everywhere, research teams are asking: Do we still need all these tools? […]
UX Research in the Age of AI: What Changes, What Doesn’t
In the past two years, UX researchers have faced enormous change: smaller teams, rising expectations, and the pressure to deliver faster. Layer on the flood of AI tools promising “instant insight,” and the research landscape feels simultaneously more powerful—and more confusing—than ever. So what’s real? What’s just noise? And more importantly: what’s our role in […]
The UX Researcher’s Guide to AI-Powered Agile Testing
The New Demands on UX Research Product development has changed. Sprints are shorter. Releases are continuous. The pressure to deliver “right the first time” has never been higher. And yet, research timelines haven’t always kept pace. Traditional tools and workflows often slow teams down—leading to bottlenecks, missed validation windows, and insights that arrive after decisions […]
A Webinar Recap: Lessons Learned from Implementing AI Agents in Market Research
At Informa’s TMRE @ Home event last month, Fuel Cycle’s Chief Strategy Officer, Rick Kelly, delivered a session on “Lessons Learned from Implementing AI Agents in Market Research.” The presentation demystified the buzz around agentic AI, highlighted the strategic necessity of orchestration and human oversight, and introduced a vision for transforming market research from reactive […]
A Webinar Recap: How Insights Teams Are Powering CPG Resilience and Growth
In today’s CPG and retail landscape, uncertainty is the only constant. From fluctuating consumer sentiment to shifting purchase priorities, brands must stay agile — and that requires actionable, real-time insights. In our recent Fuel Cycle webinar, “Beyond the Shelf: Insights Teams Empowering Retail & CPG Excellence,” we gathered expert perspectives from CPG leaders navigating today’s […]
The Consumer Confidence Sprint: Helping Brands Lead, Not React
Inflation. Interest rate shocks. Recession anxiety. A volatile job market. These aren’t just headlines — they’re redefining how consumers think, spend, and stay loyal. As Greg Wight noted in a recent article on evolving consumer patterns, the forces shaping today’s behavior — whether tariffs, pandemics, or financial stress — often trigger conscious-shopping responses: reevaluation of […]
What is Pilot Testing and What are the Benefits?
Before launching any market research study, there are a few critical questions you need to ask: Answering these questions before your study begins is key to a successful outcome—and the smartest way to do that is with a pilot test. In this article, we’ll walk through what pilot testing is, why it matters more than […]
How to Balance Fast Insights with Research Rigor
Insights teams are under pressure to deliver research faster than ever. Stakeholders expect answers in days, not weeks, and the rise of AI-powered tools has accelerated the demand for instant insights. But there’s a catch—moving too fast can compromise data quality. Poorly designed surveys, rushed sampling, and misinterpreted results can lead to flawed decision-making that […]
Key Webinar Takeaways: From a Neuron to Agentic AI
In our recent webinar, Rick Kelly (Chief Strategy Officer at Fuel Cycle) and Dr. Bahram Nour-Omid (Executive Chairman at Fuel Cycle) offered a forward-thinking look at artificial intelligence (AI)—tracing its evolution from early computing breakthroughs to today’s cutting-edge agentic AI. They showed how these advancements are reshaping the market research landscape by delivering deeper insights, […]
Why Uncertainty Around Tariffs Should Accelerate—Not Stall—Market Research
The current landscape of global trade is anything but predictable. With ongoing tariff discussions introducing new complexities for consumer brands, uncertainty looms over budgets, supply chains, and bottom lines. In response, many companies may consider cost-cutting measures, including scaling back market research investments. However, history—and data—suggest that this is exactly the time when businesses should […]