Back in June, we shared our initial exploration into AI-based segment personas, assessing whether we could effectively use traditional segmentation data to develop realistic Artificial Intelligence (AI) representations of segments. At that stage, our work was largely experimental—a first attempt to understand the potential of blending traditional segmentation with AI-driven insights.

Exploring AI-Based Segment Personas: Where We Began

During that time, we discovered that this process was more challenging and rigorous than we originally expected. But we continued to evolve our learnings and refine our approach which has led to a deeper appreciation for what it takes to create reliable AI personas.

Building AI personas grounded in research data requires a strong understanding of segmentation methodology and an eye for the nuances that bring each persona to life. At C+R, we have this understanding “down pat”; our segmentation experience goes back decades, when one of our founding partners, Stephen Turner, was among the first researchers to conceptualize and pioneer “occasion-based” segmentation. At the time, this was a major advancement in segmentation methodology which recognized that people’s attitudes, needs, and behaviors are not fixed, but can vary depending on the situation. Leaning on our team’s collective experience in segmentation research has been crucial in surfacing the right information and ensuring that the personas we build truly reflect the target audience.

As we progressed, we realized that preparing the data is just one aspect, and constructing the personas is an entirely different challenge. To tackle this, we partnered with Signoi, a firm known for its skills in developing AI-powered solutions tailored for marketing research applications. Together, we aimed to develop AI personas that do more than just represent data – they embody real consumer insights and behaviors.

SmartMarket™ Shopper Segmentation: A Data-Driven Approach

Our collaboration with Signoi led us to build AI personas for our proprietary SmartMarket™ Shopper Segmentation. The process included the collection of a large volume of language (text-based responses) from each of the six segments, which was used to help anchor and fine-tune the segment personas. 

We’re now in the middle of a validation and quality assurance phase, ensuring these personas accurately reflect our segments and can offer meaningful, reliable, actionable insights across a variety of brand, shopper, and retailer topics and questions. The results so far are very promising, if not impressive.

How AI Personas Will Transform Marketing Research

We’re optimistic that the synergy between traditional research methods, human-curated data, and Signoi’s AI capabilities will equip marketers with the tools they need to make faster, better-informed decisions, especially in situations that have neither the time nor funding for traditional research. Imagine as a marketer having the ability to deeply delve into these segments – to become immersed in their mindsets – to truly understand their attitudes and behaviors. This will be an invaluable resource for brands and retailers, giving them an “at their fingertips” ability to see how key segments will react to:

• marketing concepts
• brand messaging/positioning
• promotional ideas
• new product extensions
• pricing strategies
• marketing communications
• and more…

Our approach positions these Smart AI tools not as a replacement, but as an augment to traditional research tools, adding more insight options to support increasingly varied research requirements.

What’s Planned for the Upcoming Year?

We’re excited about what’s ahead! In addition to integrating AI tools into our SmartMarket™ Shopper Segmentation, we also anticipate offering customized AI Personas that will accompany any segmentation study, giving clients the opportunity for segment personas to “live on” well after the segmentation study has been completed.  Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this journey into the next evolution of AI Personas.

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