Why AI changes market research
What used to take weeks of surveys and reports can now start with a few good prompts. AI won't replace real customer conversations, but it gets you a strong first map fast.
The workflow
- Frame the question. Be specific: "Who buys premium dog food online, and what do they complain about?" beats "research the dog food market."
- Gather signal with a research assistant. Use Perplexity — it cites sources, so you can verify claims instead of trusting a black box.
- Analyze customer voice. Pull real reviews and forum threads, then have Claude extract themes, objections and unmet needs.
- Pressure-test the idea. Ask ChatGPT to argue against your concept — the fastest way to find its weak points.
- Organize findings. Drop everything into Notion as a living research doc.
Prompts to steal
- "Summarize how buyers in [market] describe their biggest frustration, with example quotes."
- "What are 5 underserved segments in [market], and why is each underserved?"
- "Play a skeptical investor. List the 3 reasons this idea fails."
Bottom line
Pair a citation-first tool like Perplexity with a reasoning-first one like Claude, and you can go from hunch to evidence in a single day.
