By, Piers Lee, Managing Director, Novema Pte Ltd.
November 2025
The feedback from industry stakeholders suggests that AI will increase speed and efficiency, thereby freeing up more time for researchers. This may allow for a greater focus on strategic storytelling and a “revisiting of foundational consumer behaviour science.”
However, as AI increasingly becomes a tool for clients as well, many believe that research firms will need to “up their game,” with some suggesting that more research will be conducted in-house. Agencies will need to move beyond simple project delivery and engage in deeper problem definition, challenging client briefs to deliver truly meaningful insights.
AI may also facilitate the rise of specialist vendors with strong AI expertise, which could lead to greater market fragmentation. Smaller agencies, known for their agility and deeper understanding of client needs, are expected to continue growing, often highlighting their AI capabilities.
Conversely, some argue that larger agencies have the advantage due to their extensive data assets, which can be leveraged to derive insights and maintain a competitive edge. Large agencies are also expected to remain vital because of their normative datasets and client-servicing infrastructure, particularly at international levels.
A range of negative outcomes is also anticipated, including issues around ethics and trust, the deskilling of researchers, and the potential reduction of insight quality (e.g., losing visibility on outliers). Some believe that the current “rush to AI” could lead to a period of reflection and industry readjustment, particularly if mistakes related to AI usage begin to emerge.
The research also identified several differences between industry stakeholders:
WESTERN VERSUS OTHER MARKETS
Eighty percent of Western firms are “brainstorming” AI applications (compared with 58% of non-Western firms) and are generally involving more individuals in decision-making, including 95% of senior management and 62% of technologists.
Western firms are more likely to be developing proprietary AI in-house (65% versus 51% for non-Western firms). They also perceive greater advantages of AI in terms of improved speed and efficiency, more engaging surveys, and enhanced analysis of niche audiences. The latter is linked to higher use of synthetic data (73% among Western firms versus 33% among non-Western firms).
Generally, this indicates that Western firms are more advanced in their adoption of AI. Interestingly, however, non-Western firms use AI more frequently in predictive modelling (64%) and competitor intelligence (59%).
Non-Western firms also see greater advantages in AI’s ability to provide creative inputs (e.g., generating stimulus) at 48% versus 25% for Western firms, and in enhancing the debrief/advisory services to clients, such as deeper analysis and better presentation of findings at 31% versus 15% for Western firms.
This suggests that AI may be filling some of the “creativity gaps” sometimes observed in non-Western markets, and that these markets are turning to AI to strengthen their advisory services and presentations.
LARGER FIRMS VERSUS SMALL & MEDIUM-SIZED (SME) FIRMS
Larger firms (employing at least 100 staff) are more likely to have a dedicated department or team responsible for AI development (27%) compared with SME firms (10%).
Many SMEs have staff using AI informally without formal policy or guidance (44% versus 27% for large firms), and there are more informal discussions about AI use (39% versus 16% for large firms). Perhaps as a result of this more “informal use,” AI adoption is more widespread in SMEs—for example:
- 77% use automated transcription
- 60% use automated insights
- 51% use AI-aided research design
- 23% use AI for stimulus development
It is also possible that SMEs rely more heavily on these tools due to having fewer resources.
Larger agencies, however, are more likely to apply AI to sentiment analysis (34%) and predictive modelling (27%). They are also more likely to be developing proprietary AI (66%) and doing so in-house (61%).
Perceived advantages of AI are similar across larger and SME firms, but larger firms see greater disadvantages, particularly the risk that junior staff may not be sufficiently trained in core market research principles because of over-reliance on AI.
SME firms are more concerned about “keeping up-to-date with the ever-changing applications of AI” (66% versus 46% for larger firms) and the risk of using unreliable AI from disreputable vendors (43% versus 29%).
The more “informal use” of AI in SME firms may lead to wider application but could also leave them more vulnerable to poor or inconsistent implementation.
However, a notable 37% of all stakeholders stated that they simply do not know how AI will change the supply side of the research business, indicating that for many, it will be a matter of waiting and seeing, particularly if the AI technology itself develops in new ways.
