The state of audience research in 2026
Audience research is moving fast. Generative AI has gone from edge case to default in marketing teams, while traditional focus groups still cost tens of thousands of dollars and take weeks. Here is what the public record says about the shift.
Last updated: 2026-05-23 · 10 sourced stats
AI in marketing has crossed the chasm
In under two years, generative AI moved from a niche experiment to a standard tool inside marketing organisations. The adoption curve is steeper than almost any previous marketing technology.
Audiences are global, online, and saturated
The audience a brand campaign reaches today is fundamentally a social-media audience. Time spent on platforms is high; where that time is spent varies sharply by age cohort.
Trust is fragile and earned in public
Brand goodwill takes years to build and a single misstep to erode. Audiences increasingly choose brands by what they stand for, not just what they sell.
Traditional research is expensive and slow
Focus groups, panels, and traditional audience research still dominate pre-launch validation despite real cost and timing penalties. The economics are what AI-driven simulation is fundamentally changing.
| Dimension | Traditional focus group | HOOKiQ |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | US$7,000–$20,000+ per group | From AU$0 (Free trial) |
| Turnaround | 2–6 weeks (recruit → run → report) | Minutes |
| Sample size | 6–12 participants per group | 5–100 personas per report |
| Demographic coverage | Limited by recruiter reach + show-up rate | Configurable across age, market, profession, beliefs |
| Best used for | Final-stage validation, deep qualitative | Early-stage directional testing and stress-tests |
Focus group session pricing per Drive Research industry guide (2024). HOOKiQ pricing per current published tiers; see /pricing. Full comparison: AI simulation vs focus groups →
Sources
Every stat on this page cites a named, publicly available report. Where a source has been updated annually, the edition cited is the most recent we have referenced inline.
- McKinsey & Company, The state of AI in early 2024 (May 2024). Generative AI adoption across business functions.
- Salesforce, State of Marketing, 9th Edition (2024). Generative AI use among marketing teams.
- DataReportal, Digital 2024 Global Overview Report (Jan 2024). Global social media users and average daily time on social.
- Pew Research Center, Americans' Social Media Use (Jan 2024). US adult platform usage by age cohort.
- Pew Research Center, Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024 (Dec 2024). US teen platform usage.
- PwC, Experience is everything: Here's how to get it right (2018, PDF). Customer churn after a bad experience.
- Edelman, By the numbers: the rise of belief-driven buyers. Belief-driven buying behaviour in the US.
- Nielsen, Breakthrough Innovation Report (2014). New consumer product failure rates in their first year, based on 12,000 launches across Europe.
- Drive Research, How much does a focus group cost? (2024). Project-level pricing benchmarks for focus groups.