Synthetic Respondents in Market Research: The Next Frontier in Insights
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Synthetic respondents are AI-generated personas that simulate real consumer behavior, enabling faster, scalable market research.
A Blog Series to Guide Researchers Through
- different types of synthetics,
- the benefits and drawbacks of synthetic respondents,
- best practices for building and using synthetics,
- and comparisons to human respondents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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The Synthetic Respondents Revolution in Market Research
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Synthetics Challenges Market Researchers Should Consider
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Why Some Synthetics Fall Short—and How Bellomy’s Synthetic Respondents Succeed
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New Respondents, New Rules: Bellomy’s Unique Approach to Synthetic Respondents
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The Right Synthetics at the Right Time: Best Practices for Effectively Using Synthetic Respondents
MORE SYNTHETICS RESEARCH
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Questions Market Researchers Are Asking about Synthetics
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Spotlight on Digital Twins (coming soon)
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A Comparison of Synthetics and Human Respondents (coming soon)
Used wisely, synthetics can reduce the demands placed on human participants by pre-filtering concepts and ideas and optimizing research to remove noise, clutter and excess.
—Matt Gullett | SVP, Insights Technology/on How Synthetics Can Reduce Human Burden
1. The Synthetic Respondents Revolution in Market Research
Discover how synthetic respondents—AI-generated virtual participants—are revolutionizing market research by delivering fast, scalable, and representative insights without the limitations of traditional human panels.
This piece explores the different types of synthetics, ideal use cases, and the unique advantages they offer for early-stage testing, reaching hard-to-access segments, eliminating respondent fatigue and attrition, and more. Dive in to see how this cutting-edge approach can accelerate your research and expand what’s possible.
Explore the benefits of synthetic respondents for faster, more reliable research
2. Synthetics Challenges Market Researchers Should Consider
How Far Can Synthetics Take Us in Market Research?
Used wisely, synthetic respondents can reduce the demands placed on human participants by pre-filtering concepts and optimizing research to remove noise, clutter, and excess.
That’s a breakthrough for early-stage testing and concept validation.
Bellomy’s blog series explores how to use synthetics strategically: when to deploy them, when to hold back, and how to strike the right balance between speed and authenticity.
Teach me how synthetics are used to balance speed & authenticity
3. Why Some Synthetics Fall Short—and How Bellomy’s Synthetic Respondents Succeed
Learn what Separates Powerful, Actionable Insights from Digital Guesswork.
Are you curious about:
- Why some synthetic respondents produce skewed or unrealistic results?
- The risks of relying on quick-fix synthetics that aren’t grounded in real-world data?
- How to distinguish between digital caricatures and genuinely actionable insights?
- What makes Bellomy’s approach to synthetic respondents fundamentally different?
Teach me the pitfalls of poorly developed synthetics & how they can undermine research
Synthetics are part of a modern research toolkit — they can stand in for certain stages of the process, but their greatest value comes from amplifying human insight, not replacing it.
—Kim Killian | Director, Insights Technology AI/on Balancing Human and Synthetic Intelligence
4. New Respondents, New Rules: Bellomy's Unique Approach to Synthetic Respondents
Looking for a research partner who truly understands synthetics? Bellomy sets the standard.
Synthetic respondents have emerged as a powerful tool in market research for scaling insights and reaching new audiences. But keep in mind that not all synthetic solutions are created equal.
Read on to learn how Bellomy’s approach with synthetic data is not just fast and scalable, but truly actionable and dependable, using the right tools to optimize synthetic respondent generation and analysis.
Show me how Bellomy is applying new rules to synthetic respondent revolution
5. The Right Synthetics at the Right Time: Best Practices for Effectively Using Synthetic Respondents
Seeking to understand how to make the best use of synthetic respondents in your research? Bellomy is here to help!
With the advent of synthetic respondents, market research is evolving rapidly. Organizations now have new tools to capture insights faster and at greater scale, but understanding how to use these tools alongside traditional methods is essential.
This blog explains when and how to use synthetic respondents in market research, highlighting best practices, the value of hybrid approaches, and the importance of methodological rigor and ethical safeguards. It guides organizations on leveraging synthetic data for speed and scale, while ensuring trustworthy and actionable insights.
Teach me the best practices for using synthetics
Questions Market Researchers are Asking about Synthetics
Everything Market Researchers Want to Know About Synthetic Respondents & How They Work
What is a synthetic respondent?
A synthetic respondent is a new data-modeled, AI-generated profile that simulates real-world consumer behavior for market research purposes.
What is a synthetic response?
A synthetic response is a machine-generated prediction of how a real respondent would answer a specific question, based on behavioral and demographic modeling.
What does "synthetic" mean in research?
“Synthetic” refers to artificially created data or personas that reflect human-like responses, allowing researchers to simulate behavior without relying solely on live participants.
Explore more questions that market researchers are asking about synthetics
Seeking greater efficiency for your robust research programs?
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With synthetic data, the boundaries of what we can test and learn expand beyond what the real world can provide.
It’s an exciting new frontier, with opportunities to build valuable applications that complement a core focus on genuine participants.
—Carla Jordan, VP, Research Operations/on How Synthetic Data Expands Opportunity
