AI should amplify the method, not become the method
How we use AI in qualitative and quantitative research, why the researcher stays accountable for every insight, and what that means for clients.
AI is already part of how we work, but the research is never handed over to it. As experienced researchers, we remain accountable for the interpretation and the insight. That principle sits underneath everything else.
We use AI consciously and carefully, where it is fit for purpose. For every study we start from the client’s need, then bring in the tools that suit it. We have deliberately chosen not to become an “AI-native” agency that pushes every brief through the same engine.
Why we hold that line
AI is renowned for synthesising beautifully and speaking with great authority. But it can become quite removed from the counter-intuitive messiness of real human experience. So we keep the researcher, and the source, at the centre of the process.
Our thinking is also calibrated for Africa. Where we use AI to explore our data, it is underpinned by our own database of South African and African consumer responses, not by global norms that do not reflect our markets.
What it means for clients
- More capacity per researcher, across more sources.
- Faster time to field and to first insight.
- More time on the “so what”, and less on mechanical steps.
- Every output traceable to its source and to the researcher accountable for it.
Read more about our approach to AI.