Keeping it human: The role of real insights in the age of AI
There's plenty of chat about synthetic AI personas right now … fast, cheap, and always on. Sounds great, right? But can computers really replace talking to real people?
If you're in marketing, product, UX, innovation or other types of research, the idea of instant answers without recruitment costs and hassle is tempting. But before you dive into fully synthetic research, it's worth thinking about what you might lose along the way.
The real story behind synthetic AI personas …
Synthetic personas are computer-generated profiles built on patterns and trends drawn from data. They're handy for quick questions or early-stage checks, but they won’t surprise you with an unexpected insight or a heartfelt anecdote. Real conversations with actual customers have a knack for uncovering the deeper stories … those invaluable nuggets you didn't know to ask for (Nielsen Norman Group).
Why genuine human responses matter
Say you're launching a new marketing campaign. Synthetic personas might reassure you that your messaging ticks the boxes, but they won’t genuinely reflect the excitement, confusion, or frustration felt by someone and how they’d genuinely engage with your brand, product or service. Those authentic reactions - sometimes uncomfortable, always revealing, are what spark innovation and meaningful change.
“AI points us in the right direction, but we wouldn’t rely on it for impactful decisions. Real emotions can’t be programmed”
Real-life insights from big players
Companies like Google and Amazon are already using synthetic personas to streamline initial UX and marketing ideas (UX Collective). But crucially, they continue to rely on direct customer conversations for major launches and strategic decisions, knowing full well that the most impactful insights often come from genuine human experiences.
Balancing depth and budget
Synthetic personas can indeed reduce costs upfront, but authoritative voices like Harvard University’s Enterprise Architecture highlight that qualitative research’s real power lies in revealing new opportunities, supporting strategic decisions, and reducing uncertainty. Decisions that affect brand perception, customer loyalty, or innovation success typically demand richer, real-world understanding.
Rather than going fully synthetic, it is smarter to combine rapid AI-based checks with deeper, human-centred conversations to really understand your customers.
Staying credible: ethics and clarity
Transparency matters. Stakeholders deserve to know exactly where insights originate. Misrepresenting synthetic feedback as real can erode trust quickly.
Bias also remains a concern with AI-generated personas. Synthetic insights inevitably mirror biases in their underlying data. Research highlights that large language models (LLMs) can produce outputs that reflect and even amplify existing societal biases, leading to skewed or stereotypical representations (Marketing Week). Using real customer input to cross-check and validate important findings ensures you remain grounded in genuine perspectives.
When synthetic works - and when you really need humans
Here’s a practical way I think about research approach:
Rapid idea validation: Synthetic can work well (assuming you have a decent representative data set and don’t rely on general purpose LLMs).
Detailed UX testing: Real customers bring essential depth.
Creative message checks: Start with synthetic, confirm with real customers.
Emotionally sensitive or complex topics: Real conversations are essential.
Indeemo’s approach: closer, deeper, faster
At Indeemo, our video research platform uniquely blends authentic human insights with AI-enhanced analysis. We connect you directly to real customers, helping you understand deeper and innovate faster - from initial idea through to detailed insight reports within days. Our approach ensures you're never distant from your customers' realities, empowering you to make decisions with genuine confidence.
Human insights power meaningful decisions
Ultimately, real human research aims to uncover and understand real-life experiences. Synthetic personas offer valuable speed and scale, but they can’t fully replace the emotional depth, nuanced understanding, and authenticity that come from genuine conversations with real people.
In a world racing towards automation, the smartest approach might still be deeply human: using AI to guide you, but trusting real customer stories to truly inspire your innovation.
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