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Like futurists, many insights professionals seek to have clients not only understand the results of their research, but also to act. One of the challenges and reasons for resistance is the risk involved in change.

A simple purchase became a 45-minute review deep dive, with skepticism toward perfect ratings and a focus on uncovering hidden flaws, quality issues, and possible cost-cutting by the manufacturer.

How Agentic AI Helps Insight Teams Cut Through Noise to Find What’s Real

A three-stage validation across six AI models, three countries, and 11,000 synthetic interviews  reveals where they help, where they fail, and why real human validation still matters.

Research in advertising has shown that share-of-voice (buzz), or more specifically excess share-of-voice, correlates to market share growth.

The insights industry has significantly improved its business impact over the past 15 years, according to GRBN’s Insights Maturity Study. This fourth article explores key drivers and strategies to strengthen consumer insights functions.

Fifteen years working across UX, CX, product, and market research teaches you something that no methodology course covers: the biggest threat to an insight leader's relevance is not a new tool. It is staying excellent at the wrong things.

It’s the third edition of Q&A-gency where Shape Insight’s Alex Holmes speaks with a leader within creative development and planning.

Researchers face heavy data workloads but are slowed by manual analysis. AI could help, but concerns around privacy, bias, and integration make adoption challenging—so the focus is on where it can be used effectively and safely.

Insights from the 2024 Global Winners of Esomar's Research Got Talent

Disconnected tools are creating avoidable drag in modern research workflows

This three-part series breaks down the shift toward a four-day workweek. We track its history from Henry Ford to Nixon, analyze successful UK trial data, and go behind the scenes with The Mix to see how they made the transition a reality.

Six graduate hires, six new AI roles and the new way of building insight

This three-part series breaks down the shift toward a four-day workweek. We track its history from Henry Ford to Nixon, analyze successful UK trial data, and go behind the scenes with The Mix to see how they made the transition a reality.

Despite Henry Ford’s century-old standard, the five-day workweek is finally facing a serious challenge. While most of society still adheres to the traditional model, successful UK trials have proven the 4-day workweek is viable without pay cuts.

This article is based on a talk delivered at the AEDEMOTV Media Research Conference held in Spain in March 2026.

After close to 30 years in market research, I have seen just about everything. The good, the bad and the “why are we even doing this” moments.

The UK insights sector alone generates £18.7 billion annually. Yet 83% of insights functions face budget pressures, and teams are being downsized at an accelerating rate. This paradox signals something structural, not cyclical.

When volume outpaces interpretation

The growing need for transparency, documentation, and human oversight in AI-assisted research