As AI becomes more embedded in research and marketing, brands are starting to take a more balanced view of where it adds value – and where it doesn’t.
New analysis from PRS IN VIVO suggests that while AI is helping teams work faster and at greater scale, growing concerns around survey fraud, synthetic responses and declining data quality are forcing a rethink of how insight is generated.
Rather than treating AI as a replacement for traditional methods, PRS IN VIVO has been integrating it more selectively across its research process, using it to remove friction, speed things up, and add depth where it makes sense.
In practical terms, that means using AI to streamline early-stage set-up, support analysis, and test new approaches in fieldwork, but always alongside established methodologies. Tools can now generate shelf layouts from in-store images in minutes, and AI-moderated interviews are opening up new ways to gather qualitative feedback at scale.
At the same time, the limitations are becoming clearer. In recent testing, AI-generated eye-tracking showed weak alignment with real human behaviour, particularly in how shoppers engage with packaging in the first few seconds. It’s a useful indicator, but not something brands can rely on in isolation.
That’s part of a wider shift the agency is seeing. As trust in online panels becomes more fragile, more brands are returning to in-person and hybrid approaches, especially for high-stakes decisions around packaging, innovation and go-to-market.
Olivier Blanchet, CEO at PRS IN VIVO, said: “Very soon, brands and businesses will have to either build and carefully monitor their own panel or observe real people in real stores, as behaviour never lies.”
Patrick Young, Managing Director at PRS IN VIVO, added: “AI isn’t replacing human creativity – it’s acting more as a co-pilot. It can surface patterns and optimise ideas, but it still takes human judgement to create something distinctive, emotionally engaging and brand-relevant. The risk is that over-reliance leads to safe, predictable innovation rather than true breakthrough ideas.”
For PRS IN VIVO, the direction is clear: AI has a role to play, but the strongest results come from combining it with real-world behavioural insight.
As the industry continues to evolve, it’s this balance between speed and substance, automation and observation that’s likely to define the next phase of insight generation.
