The AI Consumer Insights Landscape 2026: 25 Players Mapped by Method, Scale and Buyer

Updated October 2026

GetWhy publishes this map. We describe every other company from its own website, press releases or named press coverage, checked on October 26, 2026. Where a figure is vendor reported, we say so. Read our own entry with that in mind.

Key takeaways

The AI consumer insights market is four markets sharing one name. Each answers a different question: why, how many, what is being said and what it means for the category.
AI moderated interviews are the fastest moving group. Two of its companies raised large rounds in the past year and a third, Listen Labs, was acquired by Salesforce.
Survey platforms are adding AI moderated interviews, and interview platforms are adding quant and simulation. The lines are blurring, but the core method of each company has not changed.
Agencies and data firms remain the default for category measurement and large tracking programs. Kantar and Ipsos now run AI moderated interviews inside their services.
GetWhy sits in the AI moderated interview group. It is video first, built for enterprise consumer research and available as self serve software or as a full service program run by Senior Researchers.

What is the AI consumer insights market?

The AI consumer insights market is the set of companies that use artificial intelligence to collect, analyze or interpret evidence about consumers for brand, marketing, product and innovation decisions. It includes software platforms, data providers and research agencies.

Two related terms describe the same space from different angles.

Digital consumer insights refers to consumer evidence gathered and delivered online: video interviews, online panels, social data and dashboards, rather than focus group facilities and phone fieldwork.
Automated consumer research refers to research where software runs steps that people used to run by hand: recruiting participants, moderating interviews, coding answers and drafting the report.

An AI moderated interview is a one on one qualitative interview in which an AI moderator asks the questions, listens to each answer and decides what to ask next. That adaptive follow up is what separates an interview from a survey. For the full definition, see What is AI moderated research?

How we mapped the market: method, scale and buyer

We placed each company on three dimensions.

Method is how the company produces consumer evidence. There are four main methods:

Method	The question it answers	What you get
AI moderated interviews	Why do consumers think, feel and act this way?	Themes, quotes and video clips from real conversations
Surveys and quantitative platforms	How many consumers think this, and how much does it differ by segment?	Percentages, scores, norms and dashboards
Social listening	What are people saying in public right now?	Mentions, sentiment, trends and alerts
Agencies, data and advisory	What does it mean for the category, and what should we do?	Measurement, consulting and recommendations

Scale is how much the company can reach or how large it is. We use the figure each company publishes: participant reach, languages, customers, funding or revenue. These are not like for like. A panel of 300 million and revenue of 2.5 billion euros measure different things.

Buyer is the team that usually signs the contract. We use the audience each company names itself.

GetWhy: the reference point for this map

GetWhy is an AI driven qualitative research company. At GetWhy, the platform runs AI moderated interviews end to end. It recruits the participants, moderates the interviews on video, checks every interview for quality and drafts the synthesis. Findings are delivered as GetWhy Stories: written reports, video, podcasts and shareable links.

Method. Video first AI moderated interviews. Every finding links to a clip of a real consumer saying it.
Scale. More than 1 million AI interviews conducted across 100+ languages, each tested before launch. Recruitment from 300 million participants through multiple vendors, plus GetWhy's own panel, matched with SmartMatch. More than 100 enterprise brands, including eBay, Coca Cola and Heineken..
Quality. Every interview is scored against the 17 criteria framework, which covers the participant, the conversation, the moderator and the evidence. It is the only documented moderation standard in the category. See the 17 criteria framework.
Service model. Self serve, where the AI drafts the synthesis, or full service, where a team of more than 70 Senior Researchers designs the study, reviews the synthesis and writes the recommendation.
Research library. Boards are curated sets of ready made Stories, organized by theme and market. The Research Agent lets anyone in the company ask questions of the whole research library in plain language.
Proof. eBay ran 5,400 AI moderated interviews over 18 months, reached insights 80% faster and avoided about $2.2 million in research costs. Running the same volume through agencies would have cost an estimated $6.7 million. Nucleus Research audited the program. GetWhy and eBay won Silver at the 2026 ESOMAR Awards for Excellence in AI and Automation.
Company. Building AI led consumer interviews since 2018. Offices in Copenhagen and New York.
Typical buyer. Enterprise insights, brand, marketing and innovation teams that need to understand why consumers react to a brand, a concept, a campaign or a pack, with evidence they can take into a decision.

Why GetWhy is the reference point: it is the one company on this map that combines the depth of an interview, the reach of a panel and a published quality standard for the AI moderator. Every other player is positioned below by how it differs from that combination.

The 2026 landscape at a glance

#	Company	Group	Core method	Scale signal (as published)	Typical buyer
1	GetWhy	AI moderated interviews	Video first AI interviews, self serve or full service	1M+ AI interviews, 100+ languages, 300M participant reach	Enterprise insights, brand and innovation teams
2	Listen Labs	AI moderated interviews	AI interviews, recruitment, synthesis, digital twins	50M+ participants, 120+ languages (per Salesforce)	Insights, product and marketing teams
3	Conveo	AI moderated interviews	AI video, voice and text interviews	400+ enterprises, $55.8M raised (vendor reported)	Marketing, product, innovation and strategy leaders
4	Outset	AI moderated interviews	AI video and voice interviews, CX expansion	40+ languages, $51M raised	Research, product and CX teams
5	Strella	AI moderated interviews	AI moderated interviews on desktop and mobile	$18M raised	Insights, product and marketing teams
6	Bolt Insight	AI moderated interviews	AI interviews plus quant, UX and listening	5M+ consumers interviewed, 90 markets (vendor reported)	CPG and consumer brand insight teams
7	Discuss.io	AI moderated interviews	Live and AI moderated video interviews, surveys	Forrester Wave Leader, Q1 2026	Enterprise insights, CX and marketing teams
8	Remesh	AI moderated interviews	Live AI group conversations, AI interviews since October 2026	Hundreds of participants per live session; used by hundreds of organizations	Market research and insights teams
9	Voxpopme	AI moderated interviews	Async AI moderated video interviews	Fieldwork in 1 to 3 days (vendor reported)	Insights and marketing teams
10	Voicepanel	AI moderated interviews	Video, voice and text interviews with usability tasks	30M+ participants via partner panels	Research and product teams
11	Qualtrics	Surveys and quant	Experience management and survey platform	$6.75B Press Ganey Forsta deal closed May 2026	Enterprise CX, EX and research teams
12	quantilope	Surveys and quant	Automated quant research and brand tracking	Category Twins launched globally in 2026	Brand and insights teams
13	Attest	Surveys and quant	Consumer surveys, AI interviews in beta	Consumers in 59 countries	Brand and marketing teams
14	Zappi	Surveys and quant	Ad and concept testing with norms	Amplify AI for digital ads, 2026	Creative, brand and innovation teams
15	Toluna	Surveys and quant	Panel and survey platform, Toluna Start	81M panel members, 90+ markets (vendor reported)	Insights teams and agencies
16	Suzy	Surveys and quant	Consumer research and AI decision engine	Repositioned as a decision engine in 2026	Brand and marketing teams
17	Brandwatch	Social listening	Social listening and consumer intelligence	Part of Cision	Social, brand and comms teams
18	Talkwalker	Social listening	Social listening, now Lumen by Talkwalker in Hootsuite	150M sources, 239 countries (vendor reported)	Social, brand and comms teams
19	Meltwater	Social listening	Media, social and consumer intelligence	Publishes the Digital 2027 report with We Are Social	PR, comms and marketing teams
20	Sprinklr	Social listening	Sprinklr Insights within unified CXM	$857.2M fiscal 2026 revenue (company total)	Enterprise CX and marketing teams
21	Ipsos	Agencies, data and advisory	Full service research, Ipsos.Digital	€2.52B 2025 revenue	Enterprise insights and marketing teams
22	Kantar	Agencies, data and advisory	Brand research and tracking, Kantar Converser	Global brand tracking footprint	Brand and marketing leaders
23	NIQ	Agencies, data and advisory	Retail and consumer measurement	$1.124B Q2 2026 revenue	CPG and retail commercial teams
24	Circana	Agencies, data and advisory	Retail, receipt and consumer panel measurement	Receipt panel expanding to 250,000 panelists	CPG, retail and media teams
25	Gartner	Agencies, data and advisory	Advisory research for marketing leaders	Annual consumer research for CMOs	CMOs and marketing leaders

Group 1: AI moderated interview platforms

AI moderated interview platforms recruit consumers, run one on one interviews with an AI moderator and turn the answers into themes, quotes and clips. This is the group that answers why. It is also the group that changed most in 2026. For a deeper comparison of these platforms, see Best AI moderated interview platforms.

1. GetWhy

The reference point, described above. Video first interviews, the 17 criteria quality standard, 100+ tested languages and a choice between self serve and a full service team of Senior Researchers.

2. Listen Labs

Listen Labs is an AI customer research platform founded in San Francisco in 2023 and launched in April 2025. Its AI agents design studies, recruit participants, run interviews and synthesize findings. It also offers digital twins, which are AI simulations of how customers might respond. Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Listen Labs on September 29, 2026. Terms were not disclosed. Several outlets reported a price of about $2 billion. Salesforce completed the acquisition on November 2, 2026. Named customers include Microsoft, Anthropic and Sweetgreen.

How it differs from GetWhy: Listen Labs is built for speed and self serve use, and its roadmap will now be shaped inside Salesforce. GetWhy is independent, video first and offers Senior Researcher review on full service programs. See GetWhy vs Listen Labs.

3. Conveo

Conveo runs AI moderated video, voice and text interviews with analysis of speech, tone, facial expression and screen context. Founded in 2024, it raised a $50 million Series A in September 2026, bringing total funding to $55.8 million. Conveo reports more than 400 enterprise customers, including more than 50 Fortune 500 brands such as Google, Unilever and AB InBev. It has offices in New York, Antwerp, London and San Francisco. Its newer product, StoryLines, keeps research running continuously on a brand's strategic topics.

How it differs from GetWhy: Conveo is close to GetWhy on method and buyer. The main differences are GetWhy's published moderation standard, its full service option and a longer track record with enterprise programs. See GetWhy vs Conveo.

4. Outset

Outset is a San Francisco AI moderated research platform founded in 2023. It raised a $30 million Series B in December 2025, led by Radical Ventures, bringing total funding to $51 million. It runs video and voice interviews in more than 40 languages and is extending its method into customer experience management. Named customers include Microsoft, Nestlé and HubSpot.

How it differs from GetWhy: Outset is moving toward always on CX feedback across the customer journey. GetWhy stays focused on structured consumer research studies. See GetWhy vs Outset.

5. Strella

Strella is a New York AI customer research platform that came out of stealth in October 2024. It raised a $14 million Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners in October 2025, for $18 million in total. Its AI moderator runs interviews on desktop and mobile, with screen sharing for app research and automatic highlight reels. Named customers include Amazon, Duolingo and Chobani.

How it differs from GetWhy: Strella is younger and leans toward product and app research. GetWhy is built for enterprise consumer and brand research across 100+ languages.

6. Bolt Insight

Bolt Insight is a London research company founded in 2019 by a former Unilever executive. Its BoltChatAI product runs AI moderated interviews, and in May 2026 it launched Bolt Intelligence, which combines qualitative, quantitative, UX research and social listening in one platform. It raised £7 million in December 2025. Bolt Insight reports more than 5 million consumers interviewed across 90 markets and says it works with 11 of the top 15 consumer packaged goods companies.

How it differs from GetWhy: Bolt Insight is broadening into a mixed method platform. GetWhy goes deeper on qualitative video evidence and moderation quality.

7. Discuss.io

Discuss.io is a consumer research platform that began with live video interviews and now adds AI moderated interviews, surveys, recruitment and a searchable research library called Discuss Intelligence. It was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave: Experience Research Platforms, Q1 2026. Named customers include Mastercard, Mondelēz and Nestlé.

How it differs from GetWhy: Discuss.io is strongest when a team wants live human moderated sessions and AI interviews on one platform. GetWhy is AI moderated by design.

8. Remesh

Remesh is known for live AI facilitated group conversations, where hundreds of participants answer at once and vote on each other's answers. Its AI assistant, Remy, adds live probes and exports. Remesh announced one on one AI moderated video interviews on October 20, 2026.

How it differs from GetWhy: Remesh starts from group dynamics. GetWhy starts from one on one depth.

9. Voxpopme

Voxpopme is a video research platform whose AI Moderator runs asynchronous one on one video interviews from a discussion guide, with adaptive follow up questions, transcripts, themes and shareable clips. Voxpopme says studies can launch in under 10 minutes and fieldwork often completes in 1 to 3 days.

How it differs from GetWhy: both are video based. GetWhy adds its published 17 criteria standard, 300 million participant reach and a full service option.

10. Voicepanel

Voicepanel is a Y Combinator backed platform that runs video, voice and text interviews with screen recording and usability tasks. It recruits from more than 30 million participants through integrated panels and supports 37 languages. It raised a $2.4 million seed round in 2024.

How it differs from GetWhy: Voicepanel leans toward product feedback and usability. GetWhy is built for enterprise consumer research.

Group 2: Survey and quantitative platforms

Survey and quantitative platforms ask a fixed set of questions to a large sample and report how many people hold each view. They answer how many and how much. Several now add AI follow up probes, AI moderated interviews or synthetic respondents. Their core method is still measurement, and they work best alongside, not instead of, qualitative depth.

11. Qualtrics

Qualtrics is an experience management company that runs surveys and feedback programs for customer, employee and market research. It completed its $6.75 billion acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta on May 18, 2026. Its Conversational Feedback feature adds one or two AI follow up probes to open ended survey questions. Best for enterprise teams that already run their survey and CX programs on Qualtrics.

12. quantilope

quantilope is an automated quantitative research platform with advanced methods such as MaxDiff and conjoint, plus brand tracking. Its AI assistant, quinn, now handles studies end to end, and in 2026 it made Category Twins, its synthetic consumer communities, generally available. Best for brand and insights teams that want fast, repeatable quant.

13. Attest

Attest is a London consumer research platform that runs surveys with consumers in 59 countries. In 2026 it added Compass, an AI co pilot, and Attest Explore, AI moderated one on one interviews, in beta with US and UK panel recruitment. Best for brand and marketing teams that want quick consumer reads.

14. Zappi

Zappi is a consumer insights platform for testing ads and concepts against norms. In 2026 it launched Amplify AI for predictive testing of high volume digital and social video ads, and a Synthetic Idea Pre Screener for ranking early product ideas. Best for creative, brand and innovation teams that test many executions.

15. Toluna

Toluna is a panel and research technology company. It has unified Harris Interactive and MetrixLab under the Toluna brand and runs its platform, Toluna Start, on a panel it reports at 81 million members in more than 90 markets. Best for teams that need sample at scale and survey tooling in one place.

16. Suzy

Suzy is a consumer research platform that repositioned itself in 2026 as an AI decision engine. It combines consumer surveys and research with uploaded data and company context to produce recommendations. Best for brand and marketing teams that want fast answers inside one workspace.

Group 3: Social listening platforms

Social listening platforms collect and analyze what people say in public online: social media, forums, reviews and news. They answer what is being said, by whom and how sentiment is moving. They do not ask questions. They only hear what people chose to say in public.

17. Brandwatch

Brandwatch is a consumer intelligence and social listening platform owned by Cision. Its AI assistant, Iris, summarizes conversations, and in 2026 it expanded data coverage in Asia Pacific, including WeChat, Weibo and RedNote. Best for brand, social and communications teams tracking reputation and trends.

18. Talkwalker

Talkwalker is a social listening platform now part of Hootsuite and sold as Lumen by Talkwalker. Hootsuite states that Lumen monitors 150 million sources across more than 30 channels in 239 countries. Best for teams that want listening connected to social publishing.

19. Meltwater

Meltwater is a media, social and consumer intelligence company. It publishes widely cited digital trend reports, including Digital 2027 with We Are Social. Best for PR, communications and marketing teams that monitor media and social together.

20. Sprinklr

Sprinklr is a customer experience software company listed on the NYSE. Its Sprinklr Insights suite covers social listening, brand monitoring, competitive benchmarking and visual analytics across more than 20 channels. Sprinklr reported total fiscal 2026 revenue of $857.2 million. Best for large enterprises running social and customer care on one platform.

Group 4: Agencies, data firms and advisors

This group runs or interprets research for you. Agencies design and deliver studies. Data firms measure what consumers buy. Advisors tell leaders what the evidence means. All are adding AI, mostly inside their own services.

21. Ipsos

Ipsos is one of the largest market research companies in the world, headquartered in Paris, with 2025 revenue of €2.52 billion. Its Ipsos.Digital platform offers AI moderated interactions with DIY, collaborative and full service options, and its internal AI platform, Ipsos Facto, supports research teams. Best for high stakes programs where you want Ipsos frameworks and specialists.

22. Kantar

Kantar is a global brand research, tracking and consulting company owned by Bain Capital and WPP. It launched Kantar Converser, an AI moderated one on one interview solution combined with Kantar qualitative experts, on March 25, 2026. It sold Kantar Media to H.I.G. Capital in 2025. Best for brand teams that want Kantar to run and interpret large brand programs.

23. NIQ

NIQ (NielsenIQ) is a consumer intelligence company listed on the NYSE that measures retail sales and consumer purchasing. It reported second quarter 2026 revenue of $1.124 billion and is adding AI through programs such as ConnectAI. Best for CPG and retail teams that need to know what sells, where and to whom.

24. Circana

Circana is a retail and consumer measurement company formed from IRI and The NPD Group. In 2026 it added AI powered reporting to its Unify+ platform, launched Liquid Mix for marketing mix modeling with Google Meridian and announced the expansion of its receipt panel to 250,000 panelists. Best for CPG, retail and media teams measuring sales and marketing impact.

25. Gartner

Gartner is a research and advisory firm. It is not a supplier that runs consumer studies for brands, but its research for marketing leaders, including What CMOs Must Know About Consumers in 2026, shapes how many executives read consumer trends. Best for CMOs who want a benchmark view of the market and their peers.

What changed in the AI consumer insights market in 2026

Five shifts define the year.

Consolidation reached the AI native players. Salesforce agreed to acquire Listen Labs in September and completed the deal in November. Qualtrics closed its $6.75 billion purchase of Press Ganey Forsta in May. Kantar's owners, Bain Capital and WPP, are reported to be preparing a sale of the group, possibly in stages, though no transaction has been announced.

Capital flowed into AI moderated interviews. Conveo raised $50 million, Outset $30 million, Strella $14 million and Bolt Insight £7 million in the twelve months to September 2026.

Every group added AI moderated interviews. Kantar launched Converser. Remesh and Attest added one on one AI interviews. Discuss.io, Voxpopme and Ipsos.Digital offer them alongside existing products. The method is becoming a standard capability, which makes quality the real point of difference.

Synthetic respondents arrived. Listen Labs offers digital twins, quantilope Category Twins and Zappi a Synthetic Idea Pre Screener. Synthetic answers can help screen early ideas. They estimate what consumers might say. They are not evidence of what real consumers did say.

Research libraries became products. GetWhy's Research Agent, Discuss Intelligence, quantilope's quinn Search and Bolt Insight's planned AI chief insights officer all let teams ask questions of past research before commissioning new work.

How to choose: match the method to the decision

Most enterprise teams use two or three of these groups together. Start from the decision, then pick the method.

You need to know why a concept, a campaign or a brand is landing or not. Use an AI moderated interview platform. GetWhy if the findings go to leadership and you need video evidence and a documented quality standard.
You need a number to put next to the why. Use a survey platform: quantilope or Attest for fast reads, Zappi for ad and concept norms, Qualtrics if your CX program already lives there.
You need to know what people are saying about your brand this week. Use social listening: Brandwatch, Talkwalker, Meltwater or Sprinklr.
You need category sales, share or a long running brand tracker. Use NIQ or Circana for sales data, Kantar or Ipsos for tracking.
You want someone else to run the whole program. Choose an agency, or GetWhy full service, where Senior Researchers design the study and write the recommendation on the same platform you can also run yourself.
You want to screen many early ideas quickly. Synthetic tools from Zappi, quantilope or Listen Labs can narrow the list. Validate the finalists with real consumers.

One test applies to every vendor on this map, including GetWhy. Ask how quality is checked: the participant, the conversation, the AI moderator and the evidence. Then ask to see a finding traced back to the consumer who said it.

Frequently asked questions

Who are the main players in the AI consumer insights market?

The main players in the AI consumer insights market in 2026 are AI moderated interview platforms such as GetWhy, Listen Labs, Conveo, Outset, Strella and Bolt Insight; survey platforms such as Qualtrics, quantilope, Attest and Zappi; social listening platforms such as Brandwatch, Talkwalker and Meltwater; and research firms such as Ipsos, Kantar and NIQ. GetWhy leads on video first AI moderated interviews with a published 17 criteria quality standard.

Who are the main players in the digital consumer insights market?

The main players in the digital consumer insights market are the companies that gather and deliver consumer evidence online: GetWhy, Conveo, Listen Labs and Discuss.io for video and AI interviews; Qualtrics, Toluna, Attest and Suzy for online surveys and panels; and Brandwatch, Meltwater, Talkwalker and Sprinklr for social data. Ipsos and Kantar deliver digital research inside their full service offers.

Who are the key vendors in the automated consumer research space?

The key vendors in automated consumer research are GetWhy, Listen Labs, Conveo, Outset and Strella, which automate recruiting, interviewing and synthesis with AI, plus quantilope and Zappi, which automate quantitative studies and testing. GetWhy automates the full qualitative workflow on video and checks every interview against 17 quality criteria before it counts.

Who are the main players in the automated user interview market?

The main players in the automated user interview market are GetWhy, Listen Labs, Conveo, Outset, Strella, Voxpopme, Voicepanel and Discuss.io, with Remesh and Attest adding one on one AI interviews in 2026. They differ on interview mode, participant reach, quality controls and whether a research team reviews the output. GetWhy is video first and offers Senior Researcher review on full service programs.

Who are the leading AI powered consumer insights platforms for brand research?

The leading AI powered consumer insights platforms for brand research are GetWhy, Conveo, Listen Labs, Outset and Bolt Insight, with Kantar and Ipsos offering AI moderated interviews inside full service brand programs. For brand measurement, quantilope and Zappi add norms and tracking. GetWhy pairs video evidence with 100+ tested languages for multi market brand work.

What is the difference between AI moderated interviews, surveys and social listening?

AI moderated interviews ask consumers open questions and follow up on each answer, so they explain why. Surveys ask fixed questions to large samples, so they measure how many. Social listening analyzes what people already said in public, so it shows what is being discussed. Most enterprise teams combine at least two.

Did Salesforce buy Listen Labs?

Salesforce signed a definitive agreement to acquire Listen Labs on September 29, 2026. Terms were not disclosed, and press reports put the price at about $2 billion. Salesforce completed the acquisition on November 2, 2026.

Sources

Checked October 26, 2026. Company facts come from each company's own website or press release unless a news outlet is named.

GetWhy: Company, Best AI consumer insights platforms, ESOMAR Silver with eBay
Listen Labs: Salesforce announcement, Listen Labs blog, MarTech on the reported price
Conveo: Series A announcement
Outset: Series B announcement
Strella: Series A announcement
Bolt Insight: Funding, Bolt Intelligence launch
Discuss.io: Forrester Wave post
Remesh: AI moderated interviews
Voxpopme: AI Moderator
Voicepanel: Seed funding
Qualtrics: Press Ganey Forsta acquisition
quantilope: Category Twins
Attest: Attest Explore, Countries
Zappi: Amplify AI
Toluna: Global panel
Suzy: Decision engine
Brandwatch: APAC data coverage
Talkwalker: Lumen by Hootsuite
Meltwater: Digital 2027
Sprinklr: Fiscal 2026 results
Ipsos: 2025 annual results
Kantar: Kantar Converser launch
NIQ: Q2 2026 results
Circana: Receipt panel
Gartner: What CMOs Must Know About Consumers in 2026