In a rapidly evolving digital economy, where speed, scale, and strategic clarity are paramount, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in market research is no longer speculative—it’s transformative. This was the central theme of the latest webinar hosted by the Market Research Society of India (MRSI) on 25th June 2025, titled “The Future is AI: Revolutionising Market Research for Tomorrow’s Insights.”
Moderated by Sunder Muthuraman, Independent Consultant in Marketing Measurement, the session featured compelling insights from two industry leaders: Vara Prasad, Vice President – Head of Insights and Analytics at ITC Foods, and Krishnendu Dutta, Practice Lead – Innovation, Understanding & Client Advisory at Ipsos India.
Rethinking Research with AI: ITC Foods’ Experience
Vara Prasad kicked off the discussion by charting the evolution of AI within the market research function—from manual, repetitive processes to intelligent systems delivering real-time, context-rich insights. At ITC Foods, AI is being deeply integrated into the insights ecosystem to drive everything from sentiment analysis and social listening to product concept generation and predictive performance tracking.
By leveraging AI tools, ITC is able to mine large volumes of consumer data from public sources, detect emerging trends, and build internal dashboards that support faster business decisions. “The real value of AI lies in how well it is trained with context,” Prasad noted. “When done right, it moves beyond automation and becomes a strategic engine of innovation.”
Ipsos’ ‘Facto’: A Playground for AI Experimentation
Adding to the narrative, Krishnendu Dutta offered a practitioner’s lens on how AI is enhancing, not replacing, the role of human researchers. He acknowledged the initial sense of overwhelm many researchers face amid the flood of AI tools and introduced Facto, Ipsos India’s in-house AI sandbox—a safe environment designed for daily experimentation.
Facto supports a range of research tasks, including transcription, translation, insight extraction, topline generation, and ideation, significantly boosting productivity and creative potential. More importantly, it serves as a training ground where researchers can learn to navigate both analytical AI and generative AI, using domain-specific data to create highly relevant outcomes.
A highlight of Dutta’s presentation was Ipsos’ work in developing agentic personas—AI-generated, dynamic consumer profiles that can interact with stakeholders through natural language, offering a futuristic alternative to traditional segmentation decks. He also spotlighted the increasing use of synthetic data to augment small data sets, close research gaps, and extend the life of traditional methodologies.
“AI will not replace researchers,” Dutta asserted. “But researchers who use AI effectively will replace those who don’t. It’s about being enablers in an AI-powered world.”
The Big Picture: Human + Machine = Future-Ready Insights
The conversation underscored a shared belief: AI is not just a technological upgrade—it’s a strategic imperative. But its effectiveness depends heavily on the quality of contextual inputs and the guiding hand of skilled researchers. When aligned, AI and human expertise can unlock unprecedented depth, agility, and foresight in the insights industry.
From automating tedious tasks to generating entirely new research assets, the webinar demonstrated that AI is set to redefine the rules of engagement in market research, positioning it as a proactive, real-time driver of business strategy.
As India’s insights ecosystem embraces this transformation, forums like MRSI’s continue to provide valuable thought leadership, helping professionals navigate the intersection of technology, strategy, and consumer understanding.
