Insight Platforms’ Mike Stevens on the Emergence of AI-Native Agencies

What does 2025 have in store for the world of insights?

This was one of the key questions we asked several renowned industry thought leaders for the 2025 edition of our Market Research Trends report. While the report itself is packed with valuable perspectives, we couldn’t include every insightful response. So, we’re sharing additional highlights here on our blog.

In the Q&A below, Mike Stevens, Founder of Insight Platforms, offers his predictions, including the rise of AI-native agencies. Mike raises some fascinating points, particularly about how AI is reshaping the research landscape. With the rapid adoption of AI-driven market research tools in just the past two years, he’s likely right that these new types of organizations will be ones to watch. The big question remains: will research buyers favor AI-first agencies over traditional full-service consultancies?

Mike also shares his thoughts on the future of methodologies like NPS and brand tracking.

Besides AI, what tools or technologies do you see becoming important in 2025, and why?

AI is everywhere, influencing every corner of research and innovation. While it’s difficult to discuss tools outside of AI, some changes are on the horizon that are more about workflows than technology itself.

One significant shift will be in how insights work is structured. Research agencies and professional services are evolving, increasingly blending with tech company models. We’re likely to see the rise of AI-native agencies—there are already a few, and their growth will only accelerate.

Beyond agencies, we’ll also see changes in how insights are accessed. Technology will make insights available exactly when they’re needed. For example, insights could be integrated directly into marketing campaign platforms or early-stage ideation processes for innovation teams. This will allow insights to seamlessly flow into various workflows.

What types of AI innovations or applications are you most excited about?

There are three major areas of AI innovation that I believe will shape the future of research:

Real-time Voice: The quality and responsiveness of voice-enabled conversational AI will revolutionize data collection and feedback. It’s already blurring the lines between qualitative and quantitative research. This technology will scale up the collection of unstructured data, transform survey delivery, and enable what’s being referred to as ‘qual at scale.’

Multimodality: Models capable of interpreting multiple input types—such as text, images, video, or even emotional responses—will become increasingly prominent. By combining smartphone camera inputs with spoken language transcription, these models will create blended insights that better mimic how humans understand each other.

Conversational Analysis: The ability to ask natural language questions of complex datasets or qualitative data will democratize research analysis. This innovation will allow people with less expertise to extract meaningful insights or generate data visualizations.

What methodologies or approaches do you see declining in 2025?

I foresee a decline in two major methodologies and one specific activity:

NPS and Structured Rating Feedback: We’ve likely reached the peak of Net Promoter Score (NPS) usage. Buttons in bathrooms, constant feedback requests on websites—these methods are leading to declining participation rates, rising frustration, and a disconnect between customer experiences and the metrics used to measure them. According to Goodhart’s Law, when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be useful. CX feedback will evolve, relying more on unstructured data, conversational input, and observation.

Brand Tracking: The ‘death’ of brand tracking has been predicted for years, but now it’s beginning to transform. Companies are adopting leaner approaches with smarter data collection methods, better participant experiences, and significantly lower costs for clients.

Operational Overhead in Research Teams: Tasks like scripting surveys and processing back-end data will be revolutionized by AI. These processes will become far less labor-intensive, streamlining how research projects are initiated and concluded.”

Thanks to Mike for sharing these thought-provoking insights!

If you haven’t already, make sure to download your copy of the Market Research Trends 2025 report today.