Who or what is analysing your research data and giving your company recommendations?

Do you know:

• who or what is writing your research report and providing recommendations?
  
• as highlighted in our last two articles, who or what is designing your RFQs and RFPs, and who or what is in your B2B research sample?

AI is playing a bigger role in the market research world with 49% of full service research companies saying they are using it to enhance or replace work process – up 10% on 2024 according to the latest GRIT business and innovation report. This is especially evident in qualitative research.

On the flipside, modern AI tools are also making it possible to create fake research participants, complete interviews, and deliver professional and compelling-looking reports. There are even some reports that are not backed by real data or written by a thinking, understanding, conceptualising human.

So what should the role of AI be versus that of the human researcher? We believe AI should be used to enhance human expertise, enrich insights with secondary data, and streamline the process, but not to spit out generic reports that could be relevant to any industry or clients.

Humans add a level of understanding, emotion, cultural nuances, and accountability to a research report and recommendations. Regardless of how good reports look, without a human to review the analysis, AI hallucinations can go unchecked and then be acted on.

Research suppliers who are not interrogating the summary provided by AI or exploring the underlying data or thinking of the implications of recommendations, undermine trust in the insights and our industry

Ten warning signs that your research is not being critically reviewed by a human are:

1. Repetition of ideas or phrases in your report
   
2. Lack of unique insights from the suppliers
   
3. Vagueness about who wrote the report
   
4. Use of too many “emotive” adjectives or emojis
   
5. Overly formal writing
   
6. Inaccurate or unnaturally perfect quotes/open ended or verbatim responses
   
7. Vagueness in how the sample was collected or how the data was analysed
   
8. Lack of willingness to share raw data provided one has permission from the respondent
   
9. It doesn’t sound like your supplier – not their typical use of words, phrasing, tone
   
10. Unrealistic or extremely low cost or extremely fast timelines
    

As research partners, we understand how important trust is when buying an intangible outcome. Purely using AI without adding the human dimension at each stage of the research process undermines this trust. Suppliers should be adhering to ethics and letting client know where and when AI has been used. We should be deeply involved in the outcome of the research as we know it impacts our clients, their decisions and their businesses

At Livingfacts we have 24 years of experience in B2B and HNW research, understanding the Why, What and Where about clients, competitors and markets. We collaborate with you in providing insights to understand your challenges better and identify opportunities.

Book a consultation to gain actionable insights for your business strategy.

Call Marylou Kneale on 082 807 4043 or email az.oc.stcafgnivil@elaenk.uolyraM or contanct Heidi Clowes on 082 562 9111 az.oc.stcafgnivil@sewolc.idieH.