Using AI Personas to Accelerate Market Research

May 20, 2026 | 10:00am-12:00pm Central Time

Opening and Context: Why Market Research Must Evolve

• Shifting marketing realities: speed, personalization, compressed campaign cycles
• Why traditional research struggles to keep pace
• Where AI-enabled synthetic research fits (early insight, iteration, concept shaping)
• Session roadmap and learning goals

Traditional vs. Synthetic Personas

• What personas are and how they are traditionally developed
• Limitations of static personas (time, cost, snapshot bias)
• What synthetic personas are and how they differ
• Key benefits:
  • Speed (hours vs. weeks)
  • Cost efficiency
  • Scalability
  • Real-time interaction and evolution

Live Exercise: Build a Synthetic Persona

Synthetic Focus Groups and Insight Simulation (15 minutes)

• How synthetic focus groups build on individual personas
• How moderation works in AI environments
• Types of insight extracted (themes, objections, emotional language)
• How marketers translate AI outputs into research direction

Creative Testing with Synthetic Personas

• Using personas to evaluate advertising creative and messaging
• Testing headlines, value propositions, and campaign ideas
• Identifying resonance, confusion, and credibility gaps
• Where this fits before agency testing and media investment

AI-Generated Product Concepts + Persona Testing

• Using AI to generate early-stage product and service ideas
• Feeding concepts into synthetic personas
• Identifying value drivers, barriers, and differentiation opportunities
• Supporting innovation teams with rapid directional insight

Integration, Limitations, and Best Practices

• Where synthetic research performs best
• Why human validation still matters
• Bias management and ethical considerations
• Building synthetic research into marketing workflows

Wrap-Up and Action Planning