This year, we joined a host of marketing research and insights professionals at the Quirk’s Event in London. The event brought together vendors and client-side researchers from across the industry for two days of highly engaging sessions on various topics in marketing research.

With speakers from an array of world-class brands, from eBay to Shell, the event was a great opportunity to hear what industry leaders are currently making of the biggest trends and developments currently driving the sector. It’s clear that the sector is evolving rapidly, and while the pace of change undoubtedly brings new challenges, the future looks bright. Below are some of the biggest talking points from the event.

AI is reshaping insight

Unsurprisingly, the major talking point was AI. While there’s no doubt that AI is dramatically improving speed, scale and efficiency across the sector, it’s notable that trust in AI-generated insights is still lagging some way behind. That creates an interesting tension for an industry searching for ways to unlock the benefits of automation without sacrificing the rigour that makes research commercially valuable.

Within this, a particularly interesting thread at this year’s event was the way AI is reshaping the role of the insights function itself. With automation now taking over so much of the operational workload, insight professionals are being pushed further towards strategic advisory and commercial intelligence roles.

James Wycherley has been one of the most prominent thought leaders around the future of insights teams and their operating models, and his session had a real “state of the industry” feel. In his talk, James argued that as AI continues to change the way insights teams operate, the long-term value of those teams will lie not in data collection itself, but in interpretation, commercial context, and decision support. As research workflows become more automated, the differentiator for many organisations will be their ability to turn information into actionable business intelligence.

From a talent perspective, this shift is already changing the profile of the people businesses are looking to hire. Commercial leaders who can bridge data, AI, customer understanding, and revenue growth are increasingly valuable, particularly within SaaS, CX, HX, and consumer intelligence platforms. The ability to communicate sophisticated value propositions in a commercially meaningful way is becoming a major differentiator.

Synthetic data

The event also featured extensive discussion around synthetic data. The use of AI and synthetic data is allowing insight teams to test, iterate, and model behaviours far more quickly and efficiently than traditional segmentation research typically allows. Qualtrics led a particularly insightful session showcasing examples of brands using synthetic data to surface consumer insights that would previously have been difficult to isolate through traditional methodologies alone.

However, discussions around synthetic data also reflected the broader debate taking place around accuracy, transparency, and trust. While the ability to model audiences, simulate behaviours, and accelerate testing is clearly opening up exciting new possibilities, many organisations are still working through where synthetic approaches are most valuable and where traditional research methodologies remain essential.

Rather than replacing conventional insight generation entirely, synthetic data may be most powerful when used alongside human expertise and robust research design, helping teams move faster without losing sight of methodological rigour. That shift is also likely to influence the type of talent businesses prioritise, with growing demand for insight and commercial leaders who can balance AI capability with strategic judgement, stakeholder management, and trust-building.

New projects

It was particularly exciting to hear about the volume of new projects and hiring activity across the sector. Strong demand for senior sales, commercial leadership, and enterprise talent highlighted just how much momentum currently exists across the insights, AI, CX, and marketing technology markets.

As businesses continue investing in customer intelligence, automation, and faster decision-making tools, many organisations are entering new phases of commercial growth and operational transformation. Demand is rising for experienced leaders who can scale GTM functions, navigate increasingly competitive markets, and commercialise complex technology solutions effectively. Despite some of the uncertainty and tension created by rapid advances in AI, the overall direction of travel for the sector feels extremely positive.

For businesses preparing to scale commercial teams or evolve their go-to-market strategy, the challenge now is less about whether the market opportunity exists and more about securing the leadership and talent capable of capitalising on it. If you’re getting ready to scale up your GTM function and you want to discuss what that might look like for you, get in touch.