Episode #717: Understanding Customers by Simulating Them First with Mike Taylor, AskRally

Release Date: August 11, 2025
Host: Greg Kihlström, The Agile Brand

Introduction to Synthetic Research

In Episode #717 of The Agile Brand, host Greg Kihlström welcomes Mike Taylor, the Founder and CEO of AskRally, to delve into the transformative world of synthetic research. The conversation centers around how synthetic personas are revolutionizing customer understanding and market research by simulating human behavior through artificial intelligence (AI).

Mike Taylor's Journey and AskRally

Mike Taylor shares his professional journey, highlighting his transition from running a growth hacking marketing agency to embracing the potential of AI. His fascination with GPT-3 led him to become a prompt engineer and author, eventually founding AskRally to explore synthetic research full-time.

Mike Taylor: "I learned how to code at that time, got access to GPT-3 and was blown away. Like, wow, this is amazing." [02:10]

Defining Synthetic Research

Mike provides a layman's definition of synthetic research, making it accessible even to non-experts. He explains that synthetic research involves interacting with AI-driven personas that mimic real human behavior, enabling extensive and cost-effective market research.

Mike Taylor: "When you talk to the computer, the computer pretends to be real people and then you can use that to ask questions that you otherwise wouldn't be able to ask that many people." [04:12]

Benefits of Synthetic Personas

The discussion underscores the advantages of synthetic personas, emphasizing speed, scalability, and cost-efficiency. Mike contrasts synthetic research with traditional methods, noting that AI-driven approaches can handle vast amounts of data and diverse scenarios that are impractical with human participants.

Mike Taylor: "The benefit is that it's like a thousand times cheaper and faster than doing it." [05:40]

Accuracy and Calibration of Synthetic Personas

Addressing skepticism, Mike explains the accuracy levels of current AI models in synthetic research. He shares that out-of-the-box synthetic personas achieve about 50-60% accuracy compared to real-world studies, which can be improved to 70-80% with calibration.

Mike Taylor: "With some testing and calibration we call it, where we optimize the responses until they get more realistic. We're seeing 70, 80% accuracy." [07:14]

He further elaborates on how synthetic research complements traditional methods, serving as a preliminary tool to guide and refine extensive human-based studies.

Mike Taylor: "I don't think it's either or. There's kind of a nice symbiosis between them." [09:01]

Integrating Synthetic and Traditional Research

Mike discusses the interplay between synthetic and real-world research, highlighting how synthetic personas can inform and enhance traditional market studies. By iterating and adjusting AI prompts, researchers can extract more truthful and actionable insights than typically possible with human respondents.

Mike Taylor: "We worked with a big holding company agency on a credit card project... the synthetic study can then also inform the parameters of the human study." [09:27]

He also touches on addressing human biases within AI, aiming to align synthetic responses with actual consumer behavior rather than superficial intentions.

Mike Taylor: "We want our AIs to be biased in the same ways that humans are biased because we want to try and predict where they will act in certain situations." [10:04]

AskRally Platform Overview

Mike provides an overview of AskRally, describing it as a platform similar to ChatGPT but capable of interacting with multiple GPTs simultaneously. Users can define their audience, generate and manage synthetic personas, and utilize features like polling and image/video uploads to enhance research.

Mike Taylor: "It is basic core level, similar to ChatGPT, except you're chatting with many GPTs at once... you can create those Personas." [22:15]

He also mentions the platform's versatility, supporting various AI models including Google Gemini, OpenAI's models, and others, allowing users to switch and compare outputs seamlessly.

Misconceptions about Synthetic Research

Mike addresses common misconceptions surrounding synthetic research, particularly the polarized views on AI. He notes that skeptics either see AI as an omnipotent tool or as a threat, often overlooking the nuanced capabilities of synthetic research in mirroring human behavior.

Mike Taylor: "If you already believe in the power of AI and like you're using, you know, ChatGPT or Claude or whatever to get feedback, then you just kind of understand this intuitively and you're going to use it." [23:27]

He emphasizes that many criticisms of AI, such as issues with hallucinations, are paralleled by flaws in human research methods, thereby positioning synthetic research as a complementary rather than a replacement tool.

Mike Taylor: "Almost everything that they could complain about with AI, like, is also a problem with humans too." [25:07]

Staying Agile in Marketing Technology

Concluding the conversation, Mike shares his approach to maintaining agility in his role. Drawing from his economics background and familiarity with Kanban boards, he highlights the importance of adaptive thinking and continuous learning to navigate the uncertainties inherent in AI-driven startups.

Mike Taylor: "I think about how my beliefs have changed with new information. So like a Bayesian kind of way of thinking is how you might describe it." [25:20]

He advocates for a mindset that embraces flexibility and iterative testing, essential for leveraging synthetic research effectively.

Conclusion

Episode #717 offers a comprehensive exploration of synthetic research and its application in modern marketing strategies. Mike Taylor’s insights into the capabilities and integration of AI-driven personas provide listeners with a nuanced understanding of how to enhance customer insights and drive business growth through innovative technology.

About AskRally:
AskRally is a pioneering platform in the synthetic research space, enabling businesses to generate and utilize synthetic personas for comprehensive market research. By leveraging advanced AI models, AskRally allows for scalable, cost-effective, and insightful customer understanding.

Stay Connected:
To learn more about Mike Taylor and AskRally, follow the links in the show notes or visit AskRally's website.

This summary is based on the transcript provided for Episode #717 of The Agile Brand podcast. For the full conversation, please listen to the episode on your preferred podcast platform.