This article was developed with insights from Alison Opoku Donyina, Evaluation Manager; Ashley Gerald, Research Associate; and Amanda Bevis, Senior Director, and written by Shelly Storey, Senior Paid Media Specialist.
The research landscape is undergoing a significant shift, driven by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), evolving privacy laws, and emerging challenges to traditional data collection methods. For organizations aiming to connect authentically with their audiences, understanding these changes isn’t just helpful — it’s essential. The decisions made today regarding research practices, data ethics, and engagement strategies will determine which organizations can stand out and deliver messages that truly connect in a complex and rapidly evolving information landscape.
As we head into the final quarter of the year and prepare for 2026, our experts have been analyzing trends to ensure clients can seize every opportunity. In this four-part series, we share our top solutions for developing creative, strategic ways to tell stories, build brands, and reach audiences in meaningful and measurable ways.
Here, we focus on research trends that shape our clients’ strategies and decision-making, as well as how to navigate AI integration responsibly.
AI and Responsible Innovation
The growing integration of AI into research requires careful consideration of its potential benefits and risks. Tools like machine learning and natural language processing are improving survey design, automating note-taking, and enabling real-time analysis of complex datasets.
Despite their promise, advances in AI heighten ethical concerns regarding participant privacy, methodological transparency, and the need to keep insights rooted in human experience. One area of emerging concern is AI’s ability to generate synthetic participant responses and synthetic panels in market research to mirror real populations. While these tools can reduce costs and expedite data collection, they also pose challenges to research validity.
The implications extend far beyond simple cost-benefit analyses. Synthetic responses may lack the variance, context, and unpredictability of genuine human input, which can mask critical differences in opinion or behavior and also lead to amplified bias.
Moreover, the sophistication of AI-generated responses poses a deeper challenge to the fundamental premise of audience research: understanding authentic human motivation and behavior. When synthetic participants provide responses that are statistically plausible but experientially hollow, researchers may find themselves optimizing strategies for audiences that don’t actually exist. This creates a feedback loop where messaging and outcomes become increasingly disconnected from real-world reception and impact.
For researchers at DCG, these considerations underscore the need to strike a balance between innovation and the responsibility to preserve the authentic voices of real respondents. This means developing hybrid approaches that leverage AI’s analytical power while maintaining transparency with clients about the methodological implications of data sources.
Data Quality and Response Rates
Generative AI may also affect how real audiences engage with online surveys. A 2025 study found that 34 percent of respondents used large language models to answer open-ended online survey questions. Their analysis revealed that AI-generated responses were more uniform and overly positive, particularly on sensitive topics, raising further concerns about data reliability.
Concurrently, federal surveys and public opinion studies are facing steadily declining response rates, raising concerns about the reliability of findings. To address this, multimodal approaches — combining online panels, targeted outreach, and adaptive designs — are becoming the norm. For clients, this means a greater emphasis on innovative methods to capture representative and actionable insights.
Privacy and Funding Challenges
As Americans become increasingly concerned about how their data is used, the expansion of privacy laws is creating a complex regulatory landscape for contractors and researchers. In this environment, strong data stewardship is vital to maintaining research integrity and public trust. Since its founding, the DCG research team has protected participants’ personally identifiable information through rigorous data protection practices.
In addition to privacy concerns, shifts in federal funding are affecting universities, nonprofits, and international development research. These shifts are driving adaptive strategies to execute sustainable, high-quality audience research, message testing, and program evaluation under constrained conditions.
At DCG, we stay ahead of these trends to help our clients adapt with rigor and creativity. Whether it’s integrating AI responsibly, strengthening participant data protection, or finding new ways to reach audiences, we translate complex challenges into cost-effective research that informs strategy and drives impact.
Missed the previous posts in our Trends Series? Read The Future of Digital Engagement and The Future of Design.
