Traditional approaches to data collection, such as surveys and focus groups, have long been the cornerstone of marketing research. With advancements in AI, that may be changing.
Recent research by Google and Stanford University found that Generative AI can create a virtual representation of a person capable of thinking like them- after just a two-hour interview. In their research, they created 1,000 ‘digital twins’ that can replicate how the participants think with 85% accuracy.
With this accuracy, marketers could use digital twins rather than relying on surveys or focus group participants. All that would be required is one interview session with a person, and then their digital twin can participate in an unlimited number of surveys and focus groups.
Imagine the significant cost savings marketers could achieve by eliminating the need to pay for participants in every survey or focus group session!
In the real world, getting insights from focus groups can take weeks of effort due to the time involved in recruitment, facility rental, transcription of results, travel, etc. Using digital twins, focus group results could be available within hours.
🤔What conditions ensure reliable information from digital twins, and when do biases distort the results? Further research is needed to evaluate the accuracy of this new methodology. If proven accurate, the Future of Marketing Institute predicts a rise in marketing research firms specializing in surveys, focus groups, and panels powered by digital twin respondents.
Google/Stanford Digital Twin Study
You can read through the full study here.