The research industry is one of the sectors being rapidly reshaped by the spread of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
While traditional research largely focused on collecting consumers’ opinions through surveys and analyzing results, the industry is increasingly evolving toward the use of AI to predict market responses and reduce strategic risks before execution.
Cho Min-hee, CEO of comprehensive research firm PMI, said research is no longer merely about reporting results but has become a process of evaluating multiple possibilities and designing decision-making strategies in advance.
In a recent interview with The Korea Times, Cho positioned PMI as a “data intelligence company” rather than a firm focused solely on surveys, saying it combines behavioral and environmental data to deliver a broader and more contextual understanding of market dynamics.
PMI CEO Cho Min-hee / Courtesy of PMI
“People may respond positively in surveys, but that does not always translate into real purchases or actions. The key is to understand the gap between what consumers say and what they actually do,” Cho said. “To bridge that divide, we integrate multiple data sources beyond survey responses, including social buzz, purchasing and behavioral patterns, mobility and foot-traffic information and mobile data.”
Cho emphasized that the role of research itself is changing.
“Research should no longer be viewed as a post-event report. Its role is increasingly shifting toward a strategic process that tests possibilities in advance and helps reduce execution risks,” she said.
Cho said PMI had focused on building automation and platform-driven research systems long before generative AI became widely adopted. She noted that many research processes, from questionnaire design and response sorting to coding and preliminary analysis, have traditionally involved labor-intensive and repetitive work.
This approach laid the foundation for PMI’s in-house platforms, each designed to address different stages of the research value chain.
Source: Korea Times News
