Conversation about AI and its applications is currently present in every area of our society, from Art to Medicine and more. If you open a newspaper or turn on a TV today, you will find yourself bombarded by headlines discussing the advancement of AI—some of which are positive, and some less so.
A slightly less discussed area of AI application, however, is how it’s being used in the realm of market research to understand how we can get closer to our participants, uncover deeper insights, and ultimately unlock value for brands. the7stars’ Insight team, in collaboration with Differentology, took it upon ourselves to explore these applications, helping us better understand AI’s place in the field and how it can be utilised to deliver the greatest impact.
Our methodology involved subjecting half of our sample to an AI-enhanced survey with conversational open-ended prompts for questioning. This AI-enhanced environment was found to increase levels of engagement and greatly impact the quality of data. We were able not only to collect higher ‘quality’ respondents, but their responses were much longer and more detailed compared to those from the standard survey. This was particularly true when we increased the sensitivity of the questions asked, which can sometimes hinder a survey’s ability to gather useful responses.
Our groundbreaking new study, entitled ‘Researching the Robot: A New Era for Market Research?’, found that over two-thirds (70%) of participants agreed that an AI-augmented survey approach was ‘more engaging than other surveys they had taken.’ Additionally, the majority of participants who took the AI survey agreed that it was ‘more fun’ (59%). This finding is a significant step forward for the field, as we know that happier participants generally provide more detailed and useful responses. An overwhelming majority (69%) also agreed that the AI-augmented survey allowed them to better express their opinions and feelings.
While our study uncovered significant benefits to adopting an AI-based research methodology, the jury is still out on whether AI will singlehandedly revolutionise the market research industry as we know it. Therefore, the role of the market researcher remains safe for now.
For a more in-depth understanding of how we conducted this experiment and the key learnings that we gathered, please download the whitepaper today.
