You’ll Be the Hero Who Rescues Your Company’s Customer Insights in the AI Era. Here’s How.

The AI Revolution: Why You Can’t Afford to Wait

Let’s start with a wake-up call: Generative AI is projected to add up to $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy. McKinsey’s research shows that by 2030, automation could reshape 30% of work hours across industries, with generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Cursor lead the charge.

For market insights and CX professionals, this isn’t just a trend — it’s a tsunami. Traditional insights methods like surveys and focus groups are crumbling under the weight of their own flaws. Companies clinging to them risk being left behind, as competitors embracing sleek AI-powered solutions achieve great strategic and tactical advantages.

But here’s the good news: You’re about to become the hero who leads customer insights into the GenAI future.

RIP: Survey Forms. The Future of CX.

Picture this: You’re staring at a spreadsheet of survey responses. “Needs improvement. – Jim.” Jim, bless his heart, gave you a 2/5 rating on your checkout process. But why? Was it confusing? Too slow? Did his cat walk across the keyboard? Surveys can’t tell you. They’re the equivalent of asking someone to describe Moore's Law using only emojis — shallow, confusing, and utterly unsatisfying.

Worse, response rates are plummeting. Users are bored. Text-based survey forms are un-inspiring and frustrating. ("What are the top 3 reasons for you to buy from us?" Even cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists have difficulty deciphering human decision-making to come up with the right answer.) While online surveys are still used by 90% of market research professionals, everyone knows that they are broken.

With all the magic powers unleashed by generative AI platforms such as OpenAI, DeepSeek and Stable Diffusion, you must wonder: Is there hope for customer insights in the AI Era?

Enter Voice-to-Insights (VoI) — the AI-powered tools that deploy AI Agents for fast and actionable customer research. Imagine replacing stale surveys with warm, engaging AI-hosted interviews that users actually enjoy. VoI tools like Chikka.ai collects hundreds of personalized AI-hosted voice interviews within hours and uncover hidden insights with one click.

Why Voice-to-Insights Wins Where Surveys Fail

You’re tired of guesswork. You need depth and speed. VoI tools let you interview 500 users in days, not months, with zero scheduling nightmares. One fintech startup used VoI to uncover a hidden bug in their payment flow — a nuance multiple surveys missed — leading to a 40% boost in retention.

VoI isn’t just about replacing surveys — it’s about restoring empathy in the customer relationship. The newest generation of VoI tools detect emotions such as frustration or delight in customers’ voices, enabling a probing dialogue about the '"whys" behind the user sentiment.

With VoI, you’re not just collecting data — you’re hearing your customers’ voices for the first time. Though Voice-of-the-Customer (VoC) tools have been around for years, they rely on text-based surveys, not authentic voice-based conversations. Legacy VoC solutions are built with pre-AI-era tech and cannot take full advantage of human natural conversations to distill insights.

Be a Leader in AI-Powered Customer Research in Three Simple Steps

The era of guesswork is over. Your customers actually want to talk to you — are you ready to listen?

Step 1: Ditch the surveys.

Step 2: Deploy a state-of-the-art VoI tool like Chikka.ai.

Step 3: Unlock insights 10x faster, with 10x the depth.

McKinsey’s playbook for successful enterprise AI strategy is clear: Start with one transformative use case. For customer insights, Voice-to-Insight is that case.

Final Word

You didn’t join this profession to babysit survey forms. You’re here to make an impact. For the first time in history, "listening to the customer" becomes not only easier but also smarter. Generative AI isn’t just changing the game — it’s rewriting the rules. With VoI, you’re taking the lead.

Ready to Rescue Your Insights?

👉 Start Your Free Trial of Chikka.ai 👈

No surveys. No checkboxes. Just conversations users love.

Author, Jackie LUAN, former business school professor; recovering survey addict turned AI evangelist, on a mission to turn customer insights from a chore into a superpower. Follow me on LinkedIn for more on empathy-driven CX tools.