AI, Fireworks, and Fraud

Welcome back to Intellicast! On today’s episode, Brian is joined by Gabby Blados to discuss the latest news from around the insights industry, including people on the move, synthetic data evaluation frameworks, and the release of the latest Global Data Quality Benchmarking Report. Kicking off the episode, Brian and Gabby congratulate several industry leaders on their recent career moves, including Katie Gross joining Panoplai as President and Dave Santangelo becoming Vice President of Client Development at MarketVision. The discussion highlights how experienced leadership continues to shape innovation and client-focused growth throughout the insights industry. The conversation then shifts to AI, beginning with DISQO's launch of AI Search Lift, a solution designed to measure how advertising influences visibility within large language models and AI-powered search environments. Brian and Gabby discuss how marketers are beginning to rethink traditional SEO strategies as consumers increasingly rely on AI to answer questions and guide purchasing decisions. As AI changes how people search for information, new measurement approaches are quickly becoming essential. Shifting to synthetic data, Gabby and Brian examine Burke's newly introduced FAR Framework for evaluating synthetic data quality. Rather than viewing synthetic data as a replacement for traditional research, the conversation reinforces the importance of understanding where it can provide value, and where human-generated research remains essential. Brian and Gabby note that while synthetic data may be useful for exploration and early-stage learning, it still falls short when decisions require high-confidence quantitative insights. The episode also covers the merger of Quest Mindshare and Detect, bringing fraud prevention and sample capabilities together under a single organization. The discussion explores how more companies are building end-to-end research ecosystems that integrate sampling, fraud prevention, and quality management into unified platforms designed to simplify research workflows. In the final segment, Brian and Gabby dive into the newly released third wave of the Global Data Quality Benchmarking Report. The report introduces greater clarity around pre-survey, in-survey, and post-survey quality measures, while providing valuable benchmarks across consumer, B2B, and healthcare research. The discussion reinforces one of the report's key takeaways: improving data quality requires collaboration across every stage of the research process, from sample providers and researchers to survey design and respondent engagement. Thanks for tuning in! You can download your copy of the GDQ’s latest Data Quality Benchmarking Report on their website: https://www.globaldataquality.org/ If you missed the live version of our recent webinar, Most Wanted: The New Fraudsters Affecting Market Research, you can still check it out on-demand here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jEsQAF2sSleFPIGOcTqf4w The 2026 Edition of The Sample Landscape is now available! You can download your copy here: https://content.emi-rs.com/the-sample-landscape Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices