2026年全球市场研究趋势报告 Market Research Trends Report -Qualtrics

MarketResearchTrendsReport

Introduction

THECOMPANIESWINNINGAREN’TJUSTUSINGBETTERAITOOLS.THEY’REREDEFININGWHATRESEARCHCANBECOME.

ResearchteamsembracingAIcapabilitiesareexperiencinga

fundamentallydifferentcompetitivereality.They’repredicting

trendswithgreateraccuracy,improvingteamefficiency,and

reshapingorganizationalstrategyinwaystraditionalapproachescannotmatch.Thecompaniesmakingthisshiftareseeing

concreteresults:morebudget,moreinfluence,andmoredirectinvolvementincriticalbusinessdecisions.

Butadoptionaloneisnolongeradifferentiator.Ninety-fivepercentofresearchersarealreadyusingAItoolsregularlyorexperimentingwiththem.Universaladoptionhasresettheplayingfield.What

separatesleadersfromtherestisorchestration—howeffectivelyteamsunifyhumanandmachineintelligenceacrosstheentire

researchlifecycle.

Theresearchteamsgainingstrategicinfluencearen’tjustadoptingbettertools.They’refundamentallyreimaginingwhatresearchlookslikeacrosstheentireorganization.Byshiftingfromresearchasa

gatekeptservicetoresearchasanorganizationalcapability,they’reconductingdifferentkindsofresearch,askingbiggerquestions,andmovingearlierintheinnovationcycle.

95%

ofresearchersarealreadyusingAItoolsregularly

orexperimentingwiththem

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Thisisthemomenttoact.Themethodologiesare

proven.Thetoolsexist.Thecompetitivegapbetweenorganizationsthatmovenowandthosethatwaitwillwidensignificantly—andbedifficulttoclose.

Howdoorganizationsactuallymakethisshift?The

answerliesinunderstandingfourinterconnectedtrendsreshapingtheresearchlandscapein2026.Thesetrendsrevealwherecompetitiveadvantageisconcentrating,

wheretraditionalapproachesarelosingground,

andmostimportantly,wheretheopportunitiesfordifferentiationactuallylive.

Thisreportexploreseachtrendindepthandprovidesactionableguidanceonhowyourorganizationcan

movefromAIadoptiontoAIintegration—unlockingthefullpotentialofresearchtodrivebusinessoutcomes.

THESTATEOFMARKETRESEARCH

+12%PTS

Researchers

nowuseAIregularlyintheirwork

51%2025

39%2024

+4%PTS

UseAItoolsor

capabilitiesembeddedinresearchsoftware

66%2025

62%2024

+10%PTS

Comfortablehavingfutureresearchrelyon51%ormore

syntheticresponses

40%2025

30%2024

Meettheexperts

PRINCIPALRESEARCHER

AliHenriques

ExecutiveDirectorofQualtricsEdge

CONTRIBUTORS

AlexiaMoreno

SeniorResearcherofQualtricsEdge

KaylaSchou

Scientist,EdgeCenterofExcellence

JordanKoehl

PrincipalProduct

MarketingManager

FrancesChen

PrincipalProduct

MarketingManager

4//Qualtrics2026MarketResearchTrendsReport//Meettheexperts

Contents

6

Trend1//

Researchagentsturnself-serviceintomultipliedimpact

10

Trend2//General-purposeAIislosinggroundtopurpose-builtresearchplatforms

15

Trend3//Resistancetochangeiscostingresearcherstheirseatatthestrategytable

20

Trend4//

LeadersoptimizeforAIadoption.TeamsoptimizeforAIsurvival.

25Methodology

5//Qualtrics2026MarketResearchTrendsReport//Contents

01

TREND1

Researchagentsturnself-serviceinto

multipliedimpact

STAKEHOLDERSANSWERTHEIROWNQUESTIONS.

RESEARCHTEAMSDRIVEDEEPERINSIGHTS

Themostforward-thinkingresearchteamsare

alreadyleveragingAIagentsandconversationalAItoputinsightsdirectlyinstakeholders’hands.Whatwasoncetheexclusivedomainofspecialistsisnowbecomingaccessibletoanyoneintheorganizationwhoneedsanswers.

ThirteenpercentofresearchersidentifydemocratizinginsightsasthesinglemostimportantAIbenefit,a

smallbuttellingsegment.That’simportantbecauseofthisgroup’svisionforthefutureofwhatAIiscapableofunlocking.Amongthem,84%believeResearch

Agentswilloverseemorethanhalfofresearchprojectsend-to-endwithinthreeyears.They’renotjustearly

adopters,they’releadingindicatorsofwhereresearchisheading.Sixty-onepercentaremostexcitedaboutagenticAIcompletelytakingoverspecificphasesofresearchprojects.

agreeResearchAgentswill

overseemorethan50%ofresearchprojectsend-to-endinthenext3years

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01

AIagentsandconversationalAIare

redefiningwhatresearchersactuallyspendtheirtimedoing.Ratherthan

fieldingendlessstakeholderrequests,researchteamsaredeployingagentsthatallownon-specialiststoaccess

research-gradeinsightsdirectly.

Productmanagerscantestconceptswithoutsubmittingtickets.Marketingteamscananalyzesentimentwithoutwaitingforreports.Executivescan

exploremarketswithoutgoingthroughintermediaries.Thebarriertoinsightsisnolongerspecialistknowledge—it’ssimplyaskingtherightquestion.

Thisevolutionsolvesapersistent

problem.There’salwaysagapbetweenhowmuchresearchstakeholders

wantandthescaleandefficiency

thatresearchteamscandeliverit.AIagentsclosethatgap,notbymakingresearchersworkfaster(though

84%ofagenticAIusersreporttheirteam’sresearcheffortshavebecomesignificantlymoreefficient,comparedtojust68%ofthosewhohaven’t

triedit),butbymultiplyingresearchcapacitywithoutaddingheadcount.

Oneresearchercanenabledozensof

stakeholderstofindtheirownanswerstoroutinequestions,freeingthe

researchfunctiontofocusoncomplex,high-stakesworkthatgenuinelyrequiresexpertjudgment.

Theteamsembracingthismodelaren’tjustmoreefficient.They’reredefiningresearchasanorganizationalcapabilityratherthanagatekeptservice.

Teamsthatgatekeepinsightsbecome

increasinglyisolatedfromdecision-

makingteams;teamsthatdemocratizethembecomecentraltostrategy.This

shifttranslatesdirectlytoorganizationalimpact:72%ofagenticAIuserssaytheir

organizationdependsonresearchandinsightssignificantlymorethanayearago,versus50%ofnon-users.

Researchinsightshavemovedfrom

specialistgatekeeperstoorganizationalaccess.Nowitrequirestheright

question,nottherightcredentials.

Butdemocratizingaccesstoinsightsisonlythefirststep.Theteams

seeingthebiggestimpactaren’tjust

deployingagents,they’reorchestratingentireresearchsystems.They’re

choosingwhichAIcapabilitieshandle

whichphasesofresearch,unifying

humanjudgmentwithmachine

intelligencetoconductresearchthat

waspreviouslyimpossible.That’swherethecompetitiveadvantageconcentrates.

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‘‘Theriseofartificialintelligenceisalreadyimpactingmanyaspectsofour

consumerlearningjourney.Itisenablingincreasedspeedtoinsight,allowingourInsightsteamstospendlesstimefieldingresearchandsynthesizing

findingsandmoretimeapplyingthelearningtoinformbusinessdecisions.WeareonlyscratchingthesurfaceregardingtheapplicationofAIinthe

waywework.WebelievethestrongestinsightsteamwillharnessthepowerofAItoincreaseproductivityandbusinessimpactandwe’recommittedtocontinuouslyexperimentingwithnewcapabilitiesastheyevolve.”

GeneralMills

SCOTTMARCOUX,

DIRECTOR,INSIGHTSANDANALYTICS

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01

Strategicadvice

GETTINGSTARTEDWITHAGENTICRESEARCH

Democratizinginsightsdoesn’tmean

removingexpertise.Itmeansredirectingit.Researchersstopmanagingrequestsandstartdesigningsystems.

SEEHOWQUALTRICSCANHELP

1.Positionagenticresearchas

multiplicative,notreplacement.

Executivesneedtohear:“Thismultiplies

researchcapacity.Oneresearchercan

serve10xthestakeholderdemand.We’renotreplacingresearchers.We’reelevatingtheir

expertisefromtacticalexecutiontostrategicpartnership.”Researchersneedtohear:

“Thisfreesyoufromrequestmanagement.

Youfocusonthemethodologyanddesigningthestudy;agentshandleexecution.”Frameitcorrectlyandadoptionhappensfaster.

2.Identifyyourtop20routineresearch

questionsfirst.Thisisyourautomation

target.Mapeveryrecurringstakeholderask:

“What’sthesentimentonthismessage?”

“Doesthisconceptresonate?”“Which

audiencesegmentprefersthispositioning?”Theseareyouragentcandidates.Startthere,notwithcomplexstrategicresearch.

3.Measurewhatchangesinresearcher

focuswhenagentshandleroutine

questions.Trackagent-deliveredinsights(volume,velocity,usersatisfaction).

Butalsotrackwhatresearchersdowith

freedtime:Aretheydesigningmore

ambitiousresearch?Engagingmoredeeplywithstrategy?Collaboratingmorewith

stakeholders?Ifresearchertimejustshiftstonewtaskswithoutstrategicelevation,

youhaven’twon.

4.Pilotwithonestakeholdergroup,not

organization-wide.Startwithproduct

ormarketing—groupsthataskroutine

questionsfrequently.Letthemexperienceself-service.Letthemdiscoveragent

limitations.Usethisfeedbacktostrengthenguardrailsbeforerollingoutbroader.

Speedtovaluebeatscomprehensivelaunch.

Thefutureofresearchisn’taboutresearchersdoing

morework—it’sabout

timelyresearchoutcomesreachingmorepeople.

Whenyoumakeresearch

toolsandinsightsaccessibleorg-wideviaintelligent

agents,everyone,even

non-researchers,becomesapartoftheresearch

conversation,andexpertsreclaimtimeforthe

workthatactuallyrequireshumanjudgment.

ELLENLOESHELLE//QUALTRICS

DIRECTOROFPRODUCT,

RESEARCHANDINSIGHTS

02

TREND2

General-purpose

AIislosinggroundtopurpose-built

researchplatforms

MOVINGBEYONDAITOOLSTOAIORCHESTRATIONUNLOCKSWHATRESEARCHCANBECOME

AIadoptionhasreachedaplateau.NearlyeveryresearchteamnowhassomeformofAIintheirtoolkit.ButhavingAIandusingiteffectivelyaretwodifferentthings.The

teamsgaininggroundaren’tsearchingforbettertools—they’reconsolidatingaroundpurpose-builtplatforms

builtforresearch.They’removingfromscatteredpointsolutionstointegratedsystemsdesignedspecificallyforresearchworkflows.It’snolongerabouthavingAI—it’sabouthavingtherightAI,deployedstrategicallyacrosstheresearchprocess.Thegapbetweenorganizations

usingpointsolutionsandthoseorchestratingintegratedresearchsystemsiswideningfast,andit’sbecomingtheprimarydriverofcompetitiveadvantage.

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02

FROMADOPTIONTOORCHESTRATION

Theshiftismeasurableandaccelerating.Fifty-threepercentofresearchers

nowregularlyuseAItosupporttheir

team’sresearchefforts,upfrom42%ayearago.Buthere’swhatmatters

more:whattypeofAIthey’reusinghasfundamentallyshifted.

General-purposeAItoolsandchatbotsdroppedfrom75%adoptionin2025to67%today.Meanwhile,AItoolsandcapabilitiesembeddedinpurpose-builtresearchsoftwaregrewfrom62%to66%.Researchersareactivelytradinggenericsolutionsforpurpose-built

platformsdesignedtounlockwhatresearchcanbecome.

Thisshiftreflectsdeeperconfidence

inmodernmethodologies.Among

researcherswhohaveadopted

syntheticdata,45%nowviewitas

theirmostreliabledatasource,

outpacingtraditionalonlinepanels

(37%)andCATI(18%).Bycontrast,

non-usersstilltrustonlinepanels

most(70%).Thedivergencerevealsafundamentalrealignment:researcherswhoembracepurpose-builtcapabilitiesaren’tjustworkingdifferently—they’remakingdifferentqualityjudgments

abouttheirdatasources.

INNOVATIONPRIORITIESBYADOPTIONSTAGE

TRADITIONAL

CONTENTGENERATION

18%

AUTOREPORTING

17%

ASSISTIVE

CONVERSATIONALANALYTICS

26%

AUTOMATICREPORTGENERATION

15%

SYNTHETIC

CONVERSATIONALANALYTICS

25%

SYNTHETICRESPONSES

16%

CONVERSATIONAL

CONVERSATIONALANALYTICS

26%

SYNTHETICRESPONSES

13%

RESEARCHAGENTS

12%

AGENTIC

CONVERSATIONALANALYTICS

31%

SYNTHETICRESPONSES

14%

RESEARCHAGENTS

12%

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02

Butconsolidationaroundtherightplatformisonlyhalfthebattle.

Organizationsthatstopinnovating

oncethey’veswitchedplatformsfacethesameconstraintasthosestuck

withpointsolutions.It’scriticalteamscontinueprogressingalongthe

adoptioncurve.

Traditionalresearchersfocused

onefficiencygainsstillprioritizebaselinecapabilitiesthatarenowtablestakesforeveryone:

+Contentgeneration50%(upfrom41%)

+Automaticreportgeneration49%(upfrom44%)

Thesecapabilitiesfreeresearchersfromrepetitiveworkbutteams

plateauhere,missingwhatpurpose-builtplatformsactuallyenable.

Forward-thinkingteamsorchestratebeyondefficiencyintocapability:

+Conversationalanalytics

49%(upfrom42%)enable

researcherstoaskquestionsoftheirdatainreal-time,

uncoveringinsightsthatstaticreportsneversurface

+Visualcontentanalysis

49%(upfrom39%)usingAIto

summarizeortagvideocontent,

allowingresearcherstoextract

insightfromqualitativedataat

scalethatwouldhavetakenweeksofmanualwork

Thisisn’tincrementaladoption.It’s

researchersdiscoveringwhatbecomespossiblewhentheystopexecutingandstartorchestrating.

THEARTOFTHEPOSSIBLE

Whereyousitontheadoption

curvedetermineswhatyourresearchcanactuallyaccomplish.Teams

leveragingpurpose-builtplatformsandconversationalworkflows

aren’tjustworkingfaster—they’reconductingfundamentallydifferentresearch.They’reaskingbigger

questions.Testingbolderconcepts.

Movingearlierintheinnovationcycle.

Thisiswherecompetitiveadvantage

concentrates.Theteamscontinuouslymovinguptheadoptioncurvearethe

onesexpandingtheirresearchscope,

increasingorganizationalinfluence,andsecuringlargerbudgets.Stagnation

onanysinglecapability—nomatterhowadvanced—becomestheconstraint.

Theorganizationswinningin2026aretheonesthatmovedbeyondasking“howdoweuseAI?”toask“whatbecomespossiblewhenAIhandlestheexecution?”

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‘‘QualtricsAIistransforminghowwethinkaboutresearchprocesses,especiallywhensurveylengthlimitations

restrictdatadepthorwhenstakeholderswanttoaskfollowupquestionstorespondentsorwhenwewantfeedbackfromnicheordecisionmakersthatdon’tsitontraditionalpanels.”

SONNYSETHI,

DIRECTOROFRESEARCH

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02

Strategicadvice

THEADOPTIONCURVENEVERPLATEAUS

Thegapbetweenteamsexperimentingwithscatteredtoolsandthoseorchestrating

strategicallyiswideningfast.It’sbecomingtheprimarydriverofcompetitiveadvantage.

SEEHOWQUALTRICSCANHELP

1.Consolidatearoundembeddedplatforms,notpointsolutions.

Replaceyourscatteredtoolsetwith

aunifiedplatformwhereAIhandles

recruitment,managespanels,

automatesanalysis,andsurfaces

insightsusingnaturallanguagesearch.

Switchingcontextsbetweentools

killsmomentumandintroducesdatarisk.Integrationkillsdisruption.

2.Shiftresearcherfocusfromexecution

tostrategy.WhenAIhandlesroutinedatamanagementandanalysis,

yourteamstopsbeingdataprocessorsandbecomesstrategicinterpreters.

Theyaskbetterquestions,designmoreambitiousresearch,anddeliver

insightsthatshapedecisions.Measuresuccessbytrackinghowmuch

researchertimemovesfromrepetitivetaskstostrategicdesign.

3.Trackscope,notjustspeed.Teams

movinguptheadoptioncurveimproveonthreemetricssimultaneously:fasterinsights,broaderresearchscope,

andincreasedorganizationalinfluence.Ifyou’reonlygettingfasterwithout

expandingtheresearchyouconductorthedecisionsyouinfluence,you’restillintheefficiencyphase.Keepmoving.

Theinitialadoptionofgeneral-purposeAItoolsinadvertentlycreatednewsilos,asteams

createdisolatedsolutionsthatcouldn’tbesharedorintegratedacrosssystems.

Today,competitiveadvantagenolongerbelongstothe

organizationwiththemostAItools,buttotheonewiththesuperiorstrategy.Teamswinningin2026aretradingfragmentedsolutionsfor

purpose-builtorchestratedplatformswhichallow

themtocontinuouslyadapt

andinnovatetogether,

fundamentallychangingwhatresearchcanachieve.

EMILYCURRIE//QUALTRICS

HEADOFRESEARCHEXPERTS,QUALTRICSEDGE

03

TREND3

KEYDEFINITIONSFORTYPESOFRESEARCH

Traditional

Ourresearchreliesexclusivelyonconventionalmethods.

WedonotuseanyformofAIinourresearchprocess.

AI-Assisted

WeuseAItoolstoassistwithspecifictasks(e.g.,questiondrafting,

summarizingfindings),butourdataonlycomesfromhumanrespondents.

Synthetic

Weareusingsyntheticdatatosupplement,orinsomecases,replacehumanrespondents.

Conversational

WeuseAIsolutionstoengageinconversationwithsimulatedtargetpopulationsorreplicasofspecificcustomergroups.

Agentic

Weareactivelyusingordevelopingadvanced,autonomousAgenticAI-poweredsystemstomanageentirestagesoftheresearchworkflowwithminimalhumandirection.

Resistancetochangeiscostingresearcherstheirseatatthestrategytable

THEDIVIDEBETWEENMODERNAND

TRADITIONALRESEARCHERSISWIDENINGFAST

Researchprofessionalsaspiretoberecognizedas

authoritiesshapingorganizationalstrategyanddriving

innovation.Theresearcherswhoareembracingmoderncapabilities—syntheticdata,predictiveanalytics,AI

automation—areachievingexactlythat.Butfortraditionalresearchers,thataspirationiscollidingwithmeasurable

reality.Organizationsareactivelychoosingtoinvest

inmoderncapabilitiesinstead,whichiserodingthe

strategicvalueandorganizationalcredibilitytraditionalresearchersspentyearsbuilding.

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03

THEDIVIDEISREAL,ANDIT’SGROWING

Organizationsareactivelychoosingtoinvestinmoderncapabilitiesinsteadandtraditionalresearchersarefeelingtheimpact:

Organizationalreliance:15%oftraditionalresearchersreporttheirorganizationdependslessontheirinsightsthanayearago—nearly4xtheoverallrate

Demand:37%seeflatordeclining

demandfortheirresearch,comparedto20%ofcutting-edgeresearchersBudget:32%reportstagnant

budgetswhile71%ofcutting-edgeteamsreportincreases

Meanwhile,thosewhoidentifyas

“modernresearchers”areconductingfundamentallydifferentwork.

Organizationsnowexpectresearch

teamstointegratemoderncapabilitieswithtraditionalrigor.Whenresearchers

themselvescan’tarticulatetheir

strategicnecessity,withonly29%

oftraditionalresearchersbelieving

theirresearchfunctioniscriticalto

competitiveedge,theylosetheauthoritytheyspentyearsbuilding.Executives

naturallydeprioritizeinvestmentsin

functionsthatcan’tdemonstratetheirownvalue.

ThirtypercentoftraditionalresearchersfearAIoutpacingtheirpersonalorteamabilities,comparedto26%overall.

Thisisn’tanabstractconcern.It’s

organizationalreality:researcherswhocan’tarticulatehowmoderncapabilitiesservetheirstrategyloserelevance.

Amongresearchersresistingchange,

syntheticdataadoption—orlack

thereof—hasbecometheclearest

dividingline.Researcherswhointegratesyntheticareexperiencingconcrete

strategicgains,whilethoseresistingitarewatchingtheirinfluenceerode.

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03

SYNTHETICDATAREVEALSTHESTRATEGICVALUEGAP

Modernresearchersusingsimulatedsurveyresponsesareconducting

significantlybroader,morestrategicworkwithadoptioncreatingcapacityforexpansion.

Researcherswhohaveintegrated

syntheticdataare11%morelikelytoengageinearly-stageinnovation,7%

morelikelytoconductgo-to-marketresearch,and5%morelikelyto

performfinalproducttesting.Thisisn’tincrementalefficiency—it’saforcemultiplier.Teamsaren’tdoingthesameresearchfaster.They’redoingmorekindsofresearchwiththesameresources.

Theidentityshiftreinforcesthis.Fifty-sixpercentofsyntheticadoptersidentify

ascutting-edgeinnovators,comparedtojust42%oftraditionalresearchers.Amongtraditionalresearchers,50%characterizethemselvesasdabblingininnovation,comparedto32%of

modernresearchers.Thegapisn’t

subtle.Syntheticadoptioncorrelatesdirectlywithstrategicpositioningandorganizationalcredibility.

SYNTHETICUSERSVS.

NON-SYNTHETICUSERS

SYNTHETICUSERS

NON-SYNTHETICUSERS

50%

45%

ENGAGEINEARLY

STAGEINNOVATION

42%

35%

DOGO-TO-MARKETRESEARCH

43%

38%

ENGAGEINFINALPRODUCTTESTING

42%

36%

MEASUREBRANDPOSITIONING

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‘‘Syntheticdatabecameour‘culturalradar’—cutting

researchtimelinesfromaweektohourswhilegivingusconfidencetotestmessagingagainstemergingtrends.Theblendedapproachletsusmovefasteronearly-

stagetesting,thenvalidatehigh-stakesdecisionswithhumanpanels.”

gabb

GARREDSHEPPARD,

MARKETINGRESEARCH

DIRECTOR

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03

Strategicadvice

BLENDHUMANANDSYNTHETICDATASTRATEGICALLY

Thedividebetweenmodernand

traditionalresearchersisnoworganizationalreality.Syntheticdataadoptionisn’t

optional—it’sthebaselineforconductingstrategicresearch.

SEEHOWQUALTRICSCANHELP

1.Mapyourcurrentresearchworkflowtoidentifysyntheticopportunities.

Startwithfoundationalresearch,

packagetesting,orearly-stageconcepts.Theseareyourautomationcandidates.

Reservecostlyhumanpanelsfor

validationandhigh-stakesdecisions.Thiscreatescapacitywithoutsacrificingrigor.

2.UsesyntheticdatatoprotectIP

whileexpandingscope.Whentestingnewproducts,services,orcompetitivevulnerabilities,syntheticdataeliminatesriskofinformationexposure.More

importantly,itfreesyourteamtorun

morevariants,testbolderconcepts,anditeratefaster,exploringwhattraditionalpanelsconstrain.

3.Buildsynthetic-firstworkflowsinto

yourresearchprocess.Don’ttreatsyntheticasanadd-on.Restructurehowyourteamplansresearch:

syntheticforbreadthandhumandata

fordepth.Teamsthatintegratethis

structurallyconduct11%moreearly-

stageinnovationand7%morego-to-

marketresearchthanteamsstilltreatingsyntheticasexperimental.

4.Articulatethestrategicnecessityof

moderncapabilitiestoleadership.

Don’tassumeexecutivesunderstand

whysyntheticmatters.Showthem

howitenablesresearchteamstodo

moreresearchwithoutincreasingbudget,allowingyoutocatchmarketshiftsearlierandgettomarketfaster.

Syntheticdataisn’tabout

replacinghumaninsight—

it’saboutchangingtherole

oftheresearcherfroma

datavalidatortoastrategic

leader.Inadditiontoreducingtheamountoftimespent

onroutinedatacollection,

syntheticdatainvites

researcherstoexperiment,

testandlearnonshort

timeframes,andimprove

researchmethodologies

acrosstheboard.That’swhereinfluencelives.

JORDANHARPER

SENIORPRINCIPALEDGETHOUGHTLEADER

04

TREND4

LeadersoptimizeforAIadoption.TeamsoptimizeforAIsurvival.

THEGAPSTEMSFROMFUNDAMENTALLY

DIFFERENTORGANIZATIONALPRESSURES

EvenamongtheteamsactivelymovingforwardwithAI,adifferentkindoffrictionisemerging.Onethatisn’tacommunicationproblem,but

astructuralone.Researchleadersandindividualcontributors(ICs)areexperiencingAIadoptionthroughcompletelydifferentorganizationallenses.Butorganizationsthatintentionallybridgethisgaphavethe

potentialtounlocksignificantlygreatervalueandmovefasteruptheadoptioncurve.

THEPERCEPTIONGAPREVEALS

ALIVEDEXPERIENCEGAP

Seventy-twopercentofresearchleadersbelievetheirorganizations

relymoreonresearchthanlastyear,whileonly52%ofindividual

contributorssharethatview.Whenitcomestosyntheticdataexpertise,68%ofresearchleadersconsiderthemselvesexpertscomparedtojust41%ofICs.Perhapsmosttelling,32%ofICshavenevertriedsyntheticresponses,versusonly16%ofleaders.

Thisisn’taknowledgegap.It’salivedexperiencegap.

RESEARCHLEADERSANDINDIVIDUAL

CONTRIBUTORSEXPERIENCEAIDIFFERENTLY

RESEARCHLEADERS

INDIVIDUALCONTRIBUTORS

Confidentinthedata

collectedleveragingsynthetic

FearlayoffsduetoAI

79%

5%

64%

15%

Believetheirorganizationreliesmoreonresearchthanlastyear

Self-describeas

syntheticdataexperts

72%

68%

52%

41%

AIhasrevolutionizedresearchprocesses

39%

19%

Identifyascuttingedgeofinnovation

64%

41%

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04

THESTRUCTURAL

DIVIDERUNSDEEPER

Buttherealdividerunsdeeperthan

perception.It’srootedinfundamentallydifferentorganizationalpositionsand

pressures.Thirty-ninepercentof

leadershipbelievesAIhasrevolutionizedtheirresearchprocesses.Among

individualcontributors,thatnumberdropsto19%.Eighty-threepercentofresearchleaderssayAItools

h