The study in this MSI working paper evaluates whether large language models (LLMs) can serve as a reliable source of consumer preference data—potentially transforming how market research is conducted. Using conjoint-style survey questions, the researchers compared LLM-generated choices with human responses to estimate willingness-to-pay (WTP) for a variety of product attributes. They find that LLMs often approximate human preferences surprisingly well, especially when fine-tuned with prior survey data, though important limitations remain. For marketers, the research highlights both the promise and the boundaries of using AI-generated insights to accelerate testing, concept screening and early-stage innovation work
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On September 29-30, the ARF and MSI co-produced the inaugural ANALYTICS & FORECASTING conference, exploring the evolving role of modeling in market research and forecasting, with a particular focus on the opportunities and limitations of synthetic data. Attendees engaged in critical discussions about the opportunities and limitations of modeling in market research applications and heard practical strategies and solutions from leading researchers and practitioners.
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This experiment, part of the ARF’s “Psychology of Gen AI” series, reveals how models like ChatGPT not only replicate human cognitive biases, such as loss aversion, but also compress variability into uniform patterns. This raises concerns for advertising researchers who rely on authentic insights into consumer behavior.
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Can sanitized AI tools truly capture the nuance required for advertising and brand research? Is a less restrained one more likely to produce skewed results? This comparative deep dive, from ARF and MSI explores how two popular large language models—ChatGPT-4o and Grok 3—respond when prompted with complex topics. The findings highlight how content moderation affects not only tone and specificity, but the very boundaries of inquiry. For advertising researchers navigating sensitive brand perception topics, understanding these model tradeoffs is essential.
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