AI is everywhere, revolutionising industries in ways we never imagined. It’s helping farmers pick crops at just the right time, tailoring education to individual students and turning retail into a personalised experience with AI-driven chatbots. Market research is no exception. From in-depth interviews to predictive analytics, AI has transformed how we gather insights. But one breakthrough is taking the spotlight: digital avatars. These AI-powered consumer personas are reshaping how we engage with audiences and make smarter, more impactful decisions. Let’s explore how these virtual personas are changing the face of research.

What are digital avatars?

Personas have long been a staple in market research, helping us understand consumers’ needs, behaviours and attitudes. But digital avatars take this concept to a new level. These AI-generated personas not only mimic human behaviours but also interact in real time, enabling deeper understanding and faster decision-making. By training AI to mirror consumer characteristics, we can simulate actual consumer behaviour and bring insights to life.

Four ways digital avatars are transforming market research

1. Engage: making insights interactive

Data often feels abstract, but digital avatars bring it to life. Imagine hosting a brainstorming session where you can directly ask a virtual persona, “How would you respond to this?” That’s the power of interactivity.

For example, when an APAC-based insurance group needed to refresh its segmentation approach across nine Asian markets, we incorporated digital avatars into the process. We began by reviewing their existing knowledge, identifying gaps and then conducting quantitative and qualitative research in those nine key markets. This resulted in a refreshed segmentation that served as the foundation for the organisation’s virtual personas. During workshops, stakeholders could engage with these avatars, asking questions and exploring preferences in real-time. This approach made the data tangible, creating a shared understanding that fuelled creative, informed decisions.

2. Empathise: building emotional connections

Understanding consumer personas on paper is one thing; truly empathising with them is another. Digital avatars allow you to connect with consumers on a human level by interacting directly with their virtual counterparts. This creates an opportunity to dive deeper into their lifestyles, behaviours and attitudes, capturing nuances that traditional research methods might miss.

Our work with Beyond Meat exemplifies how avatars foster empathy. Initially, a U&A study provided foundational insights into consumer preferences. However, to take these findings further, we created digital avatars enriched with synthetic data. During workshops, these avatars introduced themselves, shared their routines and even answered questions. This interactivity brought the personas to life, enabling stakeholders to develop a deeper emotional connection with their target consumers. The result was not just greater empathy but a stronger foundation for consumer-centric strategies.

 “It was great to really immerse ourselves in the consumer’s world for a full day. It was a revelation for us how you can use AI for this. The chatbot was easy to use and provided rich insight, and the persona videos provided a nice summary to quickly understand our consumers.” Bram Meijer, Marketing Director EMEA at Beyond Meat

3. Scale: ensuring consistency across markets

For global brands, maintaining consistency in training and understanding consumer segments across multiple markets can be challenging. Digital avatars provide a scalable solution, ensuring that teams across geographies access the same insights in an equally engaging way.

Returning to the APAC insurance case, avatars helped align teams across nine markets. By incorporating avatars into workshops, we delivered consistent training and insights to brand teams across Asia. With this unified approach, everyone accessed the same insights in a format that was easy to engage with – ensuring alignment, even in complex, multicultural contexts.

4. Activate: turning insights into impact

Perhaps the most transformative use of digital avatars is their ability to turn insights into action. They don’t just represent consumer segments; they guide how brands connect with them meaningfully.

Beyond Meat offers a compelling example as their avatars became central to the brand’s creative process. They are now used in campaign briefs, ensuring that every piece of communication is rooted in the realities of their target consumers’ lives. By incorporating avatar-driven insights, Beyond Meat crafts campaigns that resonate more deeply and authentically with their audience.

When to use digital avatars

Digital avatars are most effective when grounded in rich human data, such as from quantitative and qualitative research. They’re ideal for low-risk scenarios like idea screening, creative development or campaign fine-tuning. For high-stake decisions – such as launching a new product line or making significant financial investments – traditional research methods and broader validation are still essential.

Digital avatars represent a bold step forward in you can connect with your audiences. From making workshops more engaging to fostering empathy and driving meaningful action, they bridge the gap between data and human understanding. With digital avatars, consumer insights are no longer just informative – they’re interactive, relatable and actionable.