AI for Insights Professionals: Redefining the Human Edge

Editor's Note: I'm so glad Ashley, our Senior Content Coordinator, wrote this recap of a few of the amazing sessions from last week's IIEX.AI event. Though they represent just a fraction of the thinking shared at the event, they definitely capture the spirit of a field in motion. If you’re tracking how AI is reshaping the insights industry, I recommend not only reading this article, but then checking out the sessions yourself: On-demand access is available for those who couldn’t attend live!

🧠 The Future of Work Needs a Human Reboot

At IIEX.AI, one message in particular stood out: the future of insights isn’t solely about automation, it’s largely about augmentation. Augmenting the ways in which researchers work today ... changing it for the better.

From rethinking what “meaningful work” means to reinventing creativity, speakers across industries agreed that artificial intelligence is forcing professionals to reconsider not just their tools, but their purpose.

“Work is not working.” —  Lance Hill, Global Head of Insights, Analytics and Measurement at HP 

Only 20% of knowledge workers have a healthy relationship with their jobs, according to HP’s global study of 20,000+ respondents. That’s an eight-point drop from last year, and the consequences ripple far beyond morale. Companies with more fulfilled employees are five times more likely to report growth over two years.

“The good news,” Hill said, “is that 85% of what’s broken is within our control.” And much of that control lies in how organizations use technology.

⚙️ AI as an Enabler of Fulfillment

HP’s research identified six key factors for fulfillment: collaboration, technology, focus and flow, balance, goal clarity, and recognition. Technology drives the first three, yet only 23% of employees believe their company gives them the tools they need. By contrast, 71% of IT leaders think they already have.

That gap shows a deeper truth: when technology feels human-centric, engagement rises.

AI, Hill argued, can help close that divide, especially for Gen Z, who will make up 30% of the global workforce by late 2024. This generation values flexibility, creativity, and learning over salary — and feels at ease collaborating with AI.

“We have to remove the taboos around secondary work,” Hill urged. “People are diversifying their sources of fulfillment. Our job is to enable that, not restrict it.”

Seen this way, AI isn’t just a productivity tool. It’s a well-being multiplier, reducing cognitive load so people can focus on creativity, strategy, and storytelling.

🚀 Learning to Fail Faster — and Smarter

Tom Johnson, Senior Director of Consumer Insights & Analytics at Jack in the Box and Del Taco, took a pragmatic view: learn to fail fast, and learn cheaply.

“AI is evolving faster than Moore’s Law,” he said, illustrating how image generation leapt from crude sketches to photorealistic video in just 18 months. For researchers, this pace demands experimentation over perfection.

Johnson’s trials with ChatGPT, Enumerate AI, and Copilot Studio revealed a pattern. AI succeeds when workflows are structured. Enumerate excelled with organized data but struggled with unformatted transcripts. Synthetic data models improved precision but couldn’t correct bias in flawed samples.

“AI amplifies data quality; it doesn’t fix it.”

His broader message: success with AI requires curiosity, documentation, and humility. Citing Einstein, he added, “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes determining the right question.”

For insights pros, that’s the new competitive edge: asking sharper questions instead of producing faster answers.

💡 From Vanity to Value: L’Oréal’s AI Renaissance

If Johnson championed experimentation, L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty showed what happens when AI matures.

In partnership with Human8, Sophie Van Neck and Gaël Cheve transformed years of community research into a living, AI-powered intelligence system.

Citing an MIT study that found 95% of companies see no measurable ROI from AI, Van Neck explained, “The successful five percent embed AI where it truly adds value, not just where it looks impressive.”

With tools like Mastermind AI, L’Oréal can instantly surface insights from 9,000 consumers, 200 concept tests, and 35,000 posts. The system spots meta-patterns and even retrieves authentic consumer visuals instead of stock imagery. Their AI Canvases framework then helps teams focus on what’s unknown rather than reanalyzing what’s already been learned.

“Our goal is for every decision to be insight-led, every day,” said Cheve.

The payoff: faster innovation cycles, sharper marketing accuracy, and a culture where insights flow beyond research teams and into daily brand decisions.

“AI won’t make researchers obsolete -- It will make them indispensable, if they learn to think with the machine.”

🍺 When AI Becomes a Creative Partner

While L’Oréal used AI to unlock intelligence, Heineken and MMR Research Worldwide used it to expand imagination.

Alexandra Kuzmina and Sophie Read showcased how AI personas — built not on generic prompts but real segmentation data — can collaborate through an agentic ideation pipeline. This system iterates, refines, and self-corrects to generate bolder, more diverse product ideas.

In blind tests of 20 flavor concepts, AI-generated ideas were described as “adventurous, daring, and intriguing.” While familiarity bias made purchase intent lower overall, one sizable consumer segment showed strong enthusiasm for the unconventional.

“AI helps us imagine what we wouldn’t normally consider,” Read said. “But it’s still up to us to decide what feels right for the brand.”

Here, AI didn’t replace human creativity, it widened its range.

🔍 The Human Edge in the Age of AI

Across these sessions, one truth became clear: the future of insights belongs to professionals who know how to think with machines, not against them.

AI can analyze faster, visualize better, and predict next steps, but it can’t empathize or tell stories that move people to act.

The skills that matter most are human ones: curiosity, judgment, narrative thinking, and emotional intelligence.

“Celebrate both failures and successes as learning opportunities,” Johnson urged.

AI won’t make researchers obsolete. It will make them indispensable -- if they evolve from data interpreters into intelligence orchestrators.

✨ Final Takeaway

At IIEX.AI, the message was clear: the age of automation is also the age of human reinvention. The insights professionals who thrive won’t be the ones who fear AI, but the ones who teach it how to see.