Updated: Aug 27 2025
Yes, you can make big business decisions with artificial intelligence (AI). In fact, many brands already do.
Thanks to a new wave of AI-driven research platforms, it’s easier than ever to test ideas, validate messaging, and gather customer feedback without needing a full research department or a six-week lead time. These tools take what used to be slow and manual and turn it into something fast, flexible, and surprisingly fun.
In this post, we’re diving into 7 of the best AI-powered platforms that help you do agile testing the smart way. Whether you’re optimizing a product, launching a campaign, or trying to find “the one” concept, these tools bring the speed of AI and the rigor of research together.
What is an AI-driven research platform?
AI-driven research platforms are tools that integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning into the research process, automating tasks like survey design, data cleaning, analysis, and reporting.
These platforms often include tools for:
- Predictive analytics and modeling
- Natural language processing and sentiment analysis
- Automated data visualization
- Generative AI for survey creation or insight generation
The result? Faster cycles, higher quality outputs, and insights that are easier to access and act on, especially for agile testing.
Why use AI for agile testing?
Agile testing means iterating fast: testing early and often, pivoting quickly based on what you learn. AI helps accelerate this by:
- Automating manual tasks like tagging open-ends or charting results
- Highlighting key insights using NLP and LLMs
- Predicting consumer behavior before launch
- Surfacing patterns and trends in real-time
Joel Anderson, our Chief Data Science Officer, accurately remarks:
AI isn’t about replacing people. It’s about augmenting them. By understanding and identifying tasks that take a lot of time or that people struggle with, we can leverage AI to help our in-house team of insights experts focus on what matters – providing high-quality, accurate, and data driven insights.
For innovation teams, marketers, and UX researchers, AI-driven platforms make it easier to test more ideas, more often, and make better decisions along the way.
Read more: How to use AI in market research: practical applications from the experts
7 Best AI-Driven Research Platforms for Agile Testing
1. Upsiide (by Dig Insights)
- Best for: AI-powered concept testing and predictive innovation research
- Why it’s different: Upsiide was built by researchers and AI experts at Dig Insights – i.e. people who don’t just use AI, they shape where it goes next. Upsiide’s every AI feature was trained by behavioral scientists, strategists, and data experts.
- Key AI capabilities:
- AI Idea Generation – Create new concepts (blue sky or inspired by past ideas) and test them instantly.
- AI Video Interviews – A conversational AI moderator conducts interviews, summarizes findings, and generates a showreel.
- Storyteller – An AI-powered reporting tool that turns data into editable, structured narratives, helping teams communicate findings faster.
- Use cases: AI-assisted concept testing, pack testing, message and ad optimization, AI-led qualitative, rapid innovation sprints
2. quantilope
- Best for: Real-time, advanced method research with AI co-pilot
- Why it’s different: quantilope automates 15+ advanced research methodologies (like MaxDiff and Conjoint) and includes AI tools to generate questionnaires, chart titles, and insight summaries.
- Use cases: Brand tracking, segmentation, UX testing, idea prioritization
3. Remesh
- Best for: AI-powered qual at quant scale
- Why it’s different: Remesh enables real-time, large-scale conversations with consumers and uses AI to surface key themes and insights on the fly.
- Use cases: Focus groups, employee feedback, sentiment analysis, idea co-creation
4. Zappi
- Best for: AI-enhanced creative and innovation testing
- Why it’s different: Zappi blends automation and AI to benchmark, test, and predict creative effectiveness—helping teams validate ideas before launch.
- Use cases: Ad testing, pack testing, new product validation
5. Suzy
- Best for: Instant feedback from targeted audiences
- Why it’s different: Suzy’s platform combines automated surveys with live qual tools, an always-on panel, and AI tools for fast insight synthesis.
- Use cases: Consumer sentiment, campaign testing, in-context idea feedback
6. Appinio
- Best for: Fast, mobile-first AI surveys
- Why it’s different: Appinio delivers survey insights in minutes, using AI to streamline design and reporting. Its pricing optimization tools are ideal for CPG and retail brands.
- Use cases: Pricing strategy, shopper experience, brand tracking
7. Speak AI
- Best for: Automated qual analysis at scale
- Why it’s different: Speak AI transcribes and analyzes audio/video using NLP, identifying themes, trends, and sentiment across large qual datasets.
- Use cases: In-depth interviews, focus groups, call center analysis
How to Choose the Right AI-Driven Research Platform
If you’re choosing a platform to support agile testing, here are a few things that should be non-negotiable:
1. Research expertise still matters
AI can speed things up, but it takes real research expertise to ensure your insights are strategic, not just statistical. Choose a platform backed by experienced researchers, so you’re not just getting answers, but getting the right ones.
2. Smarts + structure
AI should speed up processes without sacrificing rigor. Choose platforms with proven methodologies, robust data quality controls, and support from experienced researchers.
3. Built-in data quality
Fast research only works if the data is clean. Make sure your platform has strong data quality protocols like fraud detection, respondent validation, and AI checks on open-ended responses. Better data = better decisions, every time.
Summary: The Future of Agile Testing Is AI-Powered
AI-driven research platforms are faster, smarter, more scalable, and more adaptable to how teams work today. Whether you need a quick pulse check or a predictive model, these tools help you move from insight to action, faster.
Want to see how AI can accelerate your concept testing? Dig’s proprietary AI-powered platform Upsiide was built for agile teams who need insight at the speed of innovation.