Faster, Cheaper, Stronger? AI in Consumer Research
Consumer and market research has been one of the fastest-moving frontiers for AI adoption. Synthetic respondents, AI-moderated interviews, automated qual coding, screeners drafted in seconds. The promise is sharper insight at lower cost and faster turnaround. The question we want to sit with is whether the insight is truer, or just cheaper to produce.
We've brought together researchers working in the thick of it to share what's holding up, what's breaking, and where the lines should sit. Each speaker gives a quick 5-minute presentation on the methods and challenges from their own work, then we open up for 30 minutes of moderated Q&A to dig into the bigger questions together.
Panelists:
Dr Zac Posada-Baynham, Director of Behavioural Science, Burson
Dr Dario Krpan, Behavioural Science Associate Professor, LSE
Prof Owain Service, CogCo CEO
Earl Panganiban, Behavioural Lab, LSE
Format
5-minute presentation per speaker (background, current role, link to AI in consumer research)
30-minute group Q&A
15-minute audience Q&A
The presentations: Your work using AI, right now.
Speakers will walk us through their own experience: the methods they're testing, what the evidence is telling them, and how they think AI is changing the way we understand consumers. Expect them to share takes on:
Personal introduction
The AI-enabled methods they've put to work, and where those methods have held up under scrutiny
What looked promising in principle but didn't survive a real project, and what the failure revealed
The Q&A: The bigger questions underneath all of it.
Uncovering AI's Footprint in Research Today
What types of AI tools are proving most useful in your work - and which have failed to live up to the hype?
AI is being used across the research workflow, from screener writing to report generation. Which parts of that workflow are you most and least comfortable handing over to AI, and why?
Measuring behaviour, or modelling it?
The validity evidence is thin and contested, but the tools are already in live decisions. What would it take for you to trust a synthetic sample, and what are we doing in the meantime?
The behavioural blind spot
Researchers know things about response bias, social desirability, and demand effects that most AI builders do not. Where do you see the current gap between these insights and how tools are used?
AI breaks down on emotional nuance, cultural context, and sensitive topics, exactly where good consumer research earns its money. Is the industry being honest about those limits?
Rigour and advice
As AI compresses timelines and costs, how do we prevent a race to the bottom on research quality? Whose responsibility is that?
This is an in-person event in London, sponsored by Human Behaviour AI (HBAI).
Held at:
📍 Encode Hub, 41 Pitfield St, London N1 6DA 🕡10 June, 6:30PM
See you all soon!
About Encode
A global developer community empowering builders through hackathons, accelerators, and educational programmes. They also offer a vibrant coworking space in the heart of Shoreditch - perfect if you're looking for a place to work and connect!
About Human Behaviour AI (HBAI)
An AI consultancy with a focus on how humans interact with machines. We help organisations strategise, adopt, think, build and decide better with AI: www.humanbehaviour.ai