It is hard to imagine a market research-related team or company that won’t be impacted by AI in 2024. The question is, will the impact be a "bad” thing or "good"?
For those of us in the Market Research & Insights sector, we’re all well aware that AI will bring significant changes in 2024 and beyond. The looming questions include: Will AI result in job losses, or will it merely transform the nature of our jobs? Could AI compromise data quality, or will it enhance it? Might AI lower research costs, or could it lead to an increase? Furthermore, will AI refine our current research methods and outputs, or will it necessitate the development of completely new ones?
And to be even more direct, what do these uncertainties mean for your team? Regardless of whether you’re part of a market research and insights team at an agency, or within a client-side organization (CPG, technology, financial services, pharma, or any other sector)—the question remains. You’re probably already contemplating what these shifts imply for your work, your team’s projects, and even your career trajectory.
2024 AI Scenarios: What’s in Your Future?
To get a clearer understanding of how AI may impact your work and career in 2024, let’s start by acknowledging that with any new technology, theer is a known adoption model: some people/teams will be early adopters, some will be laggards, some will fall in-between. Beyond that standard adoption curve, what else is going to determine your team’s AI activity in 2024?
After careful consideration, we have settled on two key factors: degree of AI Disruption being embraced (from low to high), and Leadership Commitment (from low to high). The result? 4 AI adoption scenarios for Market Research & Inisghts teams (see diagram).
Would you describe your team’s AI position as being Task Enhancers, Efficiency Escalators, Cautious Catalysts, or Revolutionary Trailblazers?
And how do you feel about that characterization? Is it aligned with your own AI interests?
This model excludes those organizations that have policies blocking AI use or are otherwise “waiting” before permitting use.
For guidance on using this model to assess your team’s position, please see our related video podcast episode, “From Basic to Bold: AI Adoption Scenarios for Market Research & Insights Teams.” Also available as audio only on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Recommended Reading: We also recommend this excellent article about AI in market research published in Quirk’s: Everything market research and insight professionals shoud know about AI, by Josh Seltzer and Kathy Cheng. The authors share very specific application scenarios and their related risks and benefits.
