One of the key topics that is buzzing around the world of market research and insights is automation. Everybody is aware that automation is happening, that it will make things faster and cheaper, but people are unsure what the impact will be on them personally and on quality.

To try and answer that question Ray Poynter and I, with the generous sponsorship of ZappiStore, have prepared a report on Automation & AI in the market research industry today and what we expect to see in the future.

We developed this report by drawing on industry and published resources, some new research, and the crowdsourced thinking of industry gurus such as: Stan Sthanunathan (Executive Vice President – Consumer & Market Insights at Unilever), Sue York (Author), Pravin Shekar (Krea), Joan Lewis (former Global Officer & SVP Consumer & Market Knowledge at P&G), John Puleston (LightSpeed GMI), Fiona Blades (MESH Experience), and Stan Knoops (Global Head of Insight at IFF).

The report contains facts, information, and predictions – in fact something for everybody. The report does include some concerns, for example about the impact on employment and the challenges that suppliers and buyers will have in maintaining and enhancing quality, but overall the report is positive about Automation and its close associate Artificial Intelligence.

To give you a sense of how we see Automation, here are the thoughts we share at the end of the report:

Automation is happening. It will continue to happen, and it will change the way you work. Market research automation and AI have the opportunity to expand the role of evidence-based decision making – faster/cheaper research facilitates new ways of working, moving away from the ‘big project’ approach to an agile, learning approach. 

In the past, automation has mostly impacted manual or junior staff. In the future it will affect senior and creative staff too. There will be winners and losers – but you want to be one of the winners. 

The best place to be is in creating, implanting, or using automation. The worst is in doing the same thing you were doing five years ago.

If you want a one-stop-shop approach to being briefed on Automation then this report, sponsored by ZappiStore, is just what you have been looking for.

Download our free new report into the impact of Automation (including AI) on market research and insight.

Not convinced it’s worth a click? Here is a bit more from the Executive Summary:

• Automation in market research will continue to evolve and accelerate.
• Automation makes things faster, cheaper, and sometimes better.
• Clients, not suppliers, determine quality – but suppliers need to ensure buyers can readily assess the quality of services.
• Automation will result in more research being conducted, and a growth in evidence-based decision making, at a lower cost per project.
• Automation will continue to generate winners and losers. Be an automation winner – lead by example and adopt innovation.
• Clients often value speed above cost savings, as shown in interviews with Valspar and T-Mobile.
• Most people agree that the benefits of automation include doing more with less, doing it faster, doing it consistently, and sometimes achieving superior quality.
• People’s fears surrounding automation are less focused, though it is generally accepted that more automation is inevitable.
• We predict 40-60% of existing market research jobs will disappear over the next five to ten years. Roughly 20-30% new research jobs will be created.
• Artificial Intelligence will have a major impact on market research over the next five to ten years, impacting areas like qualitative research, research with images/video, and creativity.
• Increased automation will result in more business decisions benefiting from research.

The report draws on a wide range of resources and original research and benefits from the contributions from a many leading names from the world of market research and insight, including:

• Adriana Rocha (eCGlobal Solutions, USA)
• Brian Ley (Valspar, USA)
• Christian Super (ORC International, USA)
• Dangjaithawin (Orm) Anantachai (Intage, Thailand)
• Darren Mark Noyce (SKOPOS, UK)
• Don DiForio (T-Mobile, USA)
• Ellen Woods (QED Strategies, USA)
• Fiona Blades (MESH Experience, USA)
• Greg Dunbar (Cint, UK)
• Jeffrey Henning (Researchscape, USA)
• Jeffrey Resnick (Stakeholder Advisory Services, USA)
• Joan Lewis (strategic advisor, USA)
• Jon Puleston (Lightspeed GMI, UK)
• Helene Protopapas (Nielsen UK)
• Kelsy Saulsbury, (Schwan’s Shared Services, USA)
• Lisa Horwich (Pallas Research Associates, USA)
• Pravin Shekar (krea, India)
• Rajesh Shirali (Tamanna Insight Partners, India)
• Sankar Nagarajan (TEXTIENT Analytics, India)
• Saul Dobney (dobney.com market research, UK)
• Stan Knoops (IFF, Netherlands)
• Stan Sthanunathan (Unilever, UK)
• Sue York (Author, Australia)

Convinced now? Download our free new report into the impact of Automation (including AI) on market research and insight.