Synthetic research
DefinitionAI
Synthetic research
Using AI-simulated respondents or personas in place of, or alongside, human research panels - synthetic audiences answer surveys, react to concepts, stress-test messaging. Fast and cheap for early exploration; contested as a substitute for real humans, whose actual behaviour keeps surprising the simulation.
Evidence from the library
AI and human audiences rank almost opposite creative traits as their top two preferences.StatTraditional search was chosen because AI discovery has no measurement history yetPrinciple82%Generative AI use is mainstream, from research all the way to companionshipStatThe public draws the AI-human line at empathy and creativityPrinciple45%Nearly half of shoppers now research through AI assistants rather than searchStat
Source
Marketing Definitions
emerging insights practice, 2024 onward; debated by Mark Ritson and the research industry