New Study Finds Marketing Leaders Need More Timely Data to Trust Intuition

Marketing leaders are spending more on intelligence than ever, yet too much of that investment never reaches decision-maker and the result is widespread reliance on gut instinct. A new Qualtrics study of senior marketing and insights executives finds that nearly two-thirds (61%) of these leaders still lean on intuition for important decisions due to lack of timely or relevant data , even though nearly half of these leaders said they invest more than 15% of their budgets in business intelligence.

That gap between data collected and data applied is an ongoing problem for modern marketing and insights teams, but why is this still a problem? The new research identifies key barriers that are disrupting leaders' ability to get the most out of their business intelligence.

Leaders Explain Their Top Challenges

First, the sheer volume of data and fragmented insights are crushing intelligence programs. 56% of leaders say they’re overwhelmed by disparate data sources, which slows analysis and decision cycles. Poor data quality is also undermining leader confidence—29% of marketing and insights executives cite unreliable inputs and forecasting as major issues, a concern especially acute among U.S. leaders. Many teams face a skills shortfall, with about half (49%) of the leaders in the study reporting their teams lack the expertise to effectively implement new AI-powered business intelligence solutions.

While most marketing and insights leaders expect their business intelligence budgets to grow in 2026, proving value remains a persistent challenge. Marketing and insight leaders said measuring ROI was their top business challenge, and 51% say unclear ROI from current tools and skepticism about new AI-powered research methods prevents them from investing further in BI capabilities. 

Despite Skepticism, Leaders are Betting on Generative and Synthetic Research Methods

Marketers tell us they want faster, more reliable, and more actionable insights; and our findings show not just massive adoption in generative AI or synthetic research, but remarkable confidence in these new technologies: 96% of senior leaders say generative AI or synthetic research positively improves marketing intelligence, 91% report greater confidence using generative AI for research, and 94% say it creates a competitive advantage. The research shows that adoption is well underway – 95% or marketing and insights leaders already use or intend to use synthetic data within 12 months. 

Marketing and Insights leaders say their teams use synthetic data for persona and audience simulation, competitive/market simulation, and to find buyer-journey pain points. Many also use it to create new customer or market insights, fill data gaps, and 62% say they are using synthetic to replace or augment surveys.

Synthetic research is helping leaders deliver insights with speed and efficiency and so far, these executives say they are trusting the results. The vast majority (84%) say synthetic research improves the speed of insight generation, 79% say it improves depth of insights, and 92% view it as more accurate or useful than traditional methods. 

While Synthetic Adoption Accelerates, Concerns Remain

Legitimate concerns linger in the minds of many marketing and insights leaders and demand thoughtful governance. Synthetic research and generative AI should not contribute to the data deluge overwhelming these marketing and insights leaders. Nearly three-quarters of leaders worry about bias in generative outputs, and more than 40% flag integration complexity and data security as top issues. These are not deal-breakers — they are the metrics that must guide adoption.

Responsible synthetic research requires rigorous testing, attention to representativeness and demographic balance, safeguards against cyberthreats, and clear controls for privacy and model provenance. In short: adopt fast, but adopt with guardrails.

In 2025, budgets are under increased scrutiny. With so many marketing leaders citing lack of ROI as the biggest blocker to future investment, research programs must shift from producing reports to driving business outcomes.  The organizations that pair synthetic rigor with operational discipline will convert marketing intelligence will position their teams to continue to grow. Industry leaders show howl the data they generate is turning into business intelligence that improves conversion, creates higher loyalty, and provides measurable revenue influence.