All Things Insights sat down with Boyle at TMRE, as he discussed his presentation about AI in the insights industry. He revealed that while more than half of professionals have significant fear about the technology, there are many reasons for optimism. He addressed the challenges of achieving sustained AI benefits, the ongoing industry struggles with doing more with less, recruitment challenges with younger workers, and the explosion of new tools and vendors.
The Practical Realities of AI Implementation
All Things Insights: We’re here on the first day of TMRE with David Boyle, founder of Audience Strategies, longtime co-chair of the show, and also one of the keynotes this year. Thanks so much for coming on and being here with us. You are a passionate speaker, author, and expert on insights, and you’re doing a really interesting keynote this year. Can you tell us a little bit about it and why you headed in that direction?
David Boyle: Thank you for having me. I love this event. I’m very happy to help. So I think the elephant in the room, the biggest thing that’s happening in the world of insights, but also the thing that no one really wants to talk about, is AI. And so we’re going to do one big session where we’re going to reflect on what’s really going on. No sales pitches. No hype.
But how do you do that, though? The method was candid interviews with AI people, insights leaders and marketing executives about insights. We’ve got 78 organizations’ intelligence going into this keynote, and the point is what’s really going on. What’s really happening? What are the lessons?
All Things Insights: This was all confidential and anonymous. No brands will be revealed. There’s an unvarnished truth to this, because when you talk with people at shows, as I do as well, there’s the fear factor. But people will say, I’m confident that we’re fine, but then maybe they’re not so fine. When you dig under the surface a little bit, there’s concern, and a lot of talk about what’s the level of maturity. Are they at the walking stage, or the crawling stage, the running stage with AI? You touch on several different points in this talk about budgets, about AI, and barriers. What are a few key takeaways?
David Boyle: I’m going to start the talk with fear because that’s the biggest topic on everyone’s mind. Most people, more than half of the people I interviewed, have significant fear about this technology, and I’m going to put that to one side. I don’t think they should be worried. I’m not seeing things to worry about in real firms. I’ve seen some bad decisions being made here and there about getting rid of junior employees, for example, in favor of AI. I think they’re bad decisions. But I think we’re alright. Most teams are not taking that path, though. So I think we can put fear to one side.
It’s reasonable to be fearful, but when you think it through, there’s lots of reasons to be optimistic, and they outweigh the fear. So I think I’m going to try to put fear to one side at the start. Then optimism because there’s so many incredible examples. Just today, I’ve heard dozens, never mind the ones from the interviews I did, many great examples.
But at the same time, even those people who’ve got some great examples are really struggling. It’s hard work to get to significant sustained, systematic benefits. Really hard work. I’m going to talk about why it’s hard work, what all the things are you need to do right in order to get real sustained benefits and lay out a kind of roadmap to help get there as well.
Embracing Challenges in the Next Era of Insights
All Things Insights: It’s really a step-by-step process. While it’s just the first day of the show, there are so many themes about the future of insights, the evolution of it, and obviously AI is a big part of that. But what are some other trends and takeaways that you see out there in terms of the programming and the people you talk to?
David Boyle: Most of the other trends are kind of universal themes for the insight community, which is being asked to do more with less, being asked to show ROI, being asked to have a strategic impact at board level instead of just a tactical impact at operational level. These are kind of normal challenges every single year, we have these exact same themes, and they’re universal.
Maybe this year as well or increasingly, we have challenges around recruitment, challenges around bringing young people into the workforce. These are young people who lived through the COVID era during formative times. They have different expectations about work, life, and work-life balance. How do we embrace that difference? Also, how do we help them to be critical thinkers, how do we help them to put the hours in and the time in that’s needed to kind of actually learn a craft in this world. There’s good challenges there as well, which people are really embracing.
The Influx of New Research Tools & Solutions
All Things Insights: There are indeed challenges and opportunities within the insights community. There are so many new tools and solutions in the marketplace. The do-it-yourself aspect of research really strikes a chord with research professionals. Will the influx of tools and AI help in that regard?
David Boyle: Oh, very much so. The vendors in the exhibition hall have never been a more important part of this event. There’s so many incredible innovations out there. So many new companies that we’ve never heard of before just showed up and have world-class products. So many traditional research companies who innovated in really useful and interesting ways. It’s never been easier to get help with the tasks that you have as an insight leader, so that’s great news. But also you’re being bombarded by offers from all these spenders, and so good luck sorting and sifting through all that.
The flip side to that I heard earlier from one of the speakers is that experimentation has never been easier and cheaper and quicker. So you can just try them and give them a shot and learn from that experience. So that is a wild ride always, and this year, ever more so. But, yes, absolutely a critical part of getting the results that you need. Critical.
All Things Insights: David, thank you so much for coming on, talking to us about insights, about your keynote. Good luck with the keynote on Thursday, and I really look forward to hearing more about your study.
David Boyle: Thanks so much. Cheers.
Editor’s Note: The next TMRE will take place on October 5-7, 2026, and will be co-located with Content Marketing World at the Colorado Convention Center, Denver, CO.
