October 2025

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 21 oct 2025

Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI/Gen AI) is impacting businesses and its application in marketing is transforming. Prof. Mohanbir Sawhney of Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, considers GenAI as a natural fit for marketing as both are centered around human interactions - conversations, content and engagement. He says, 'When you look at the customer experience lifecycle - from insights and segmentation to offer creation, campaign execution, and performance analysis - generative AI enhances productivity and quality at every stage.' Some of the AI applications in industry are - AI-powered wealth advisors in financial services; Use of digital twins in retail leading to 'bot-to-bot commerce'; Image recognition tools to diagnose equipment malfunctions to reduce costly technician visits; Contract lifecycle management tools to streamline proceses; Transcription tools to auto-populate electronic health records to streamline doctor-patient interactions; Drones with image analysis tools can assess soil health, detect pests, and optimize harvesting schedules. Prof. Sawhney emphasized that these AI applications are not standalone solutions but are part of a broader AI ecosystem, that combines traditional machine learning, deep learning and generative AI to deliver optimal results. For startups he advises, 'Instead of investing in an array of specialized tools, startups should choose a platform-based approach - leveraging AI capabilities within robust ecosystems like Salesforce, Adobe, or Microsoft Dynamics.' He also raises concerns about the ethical and security aspects of AI technologies, and cautions, 'The more AI knows about you, the greater the privacy risks. If a digital twin is hacked, it's not just data theft - it's identity theft at an unprecedented level.' Key legal and ethical issues arising in AI age - intellectual property and copyright; perpetuation of biases present in training data; inaccurate or misleading content can have serious consequences in fields such as healthcare and finance. Prof. Sawhney suggests three key aspects to consider for students and early-career professionals in AI - (1) Understand core disciplines like linear algebra, statistics, and computer science; Active use of AI tools will provide hands-on experience and practical knowledge; Critical thinking, inquiry skills and curiosity are more valuable for learning and growth. Read on...

Forbes: The AI Revolution In Business: Insights From Kellogg Professor Sawhney
Author: Taarini Kaur Dang

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Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 20 oct 2025

Marketing function of businesses is already seeing evolution with the advent of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI or Gen AI). Customer service and content development saw the early impact, but now, market research is headed for major transformtion. Researchers Jeremy Korst of GBK Collective, Prof. Stefano Puntoni of The Wharton School at the University of Pensylvania and Prof. Olivier Toubia of Columbia Business School at Columbia University, explore the role of GenAI in revolutionizing market research, how organizations can make the best use of the technology, what it can and can't do and the ethical considerations. Researchers say, 'When properly deployed, the technology offers firms unprecedented opportunities to understand and engage with customers, better assess the competitive environment, and extend data-driven decision-making deep into their organizations.' SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS - According to the survey of 170 market research and practitioners and users, researchers found: 45% were already employing gen AI in their current data and insights activities; Another 45% were planning to do so in the future; More than 70% of respondents reported concerns about the possible side effects and challenges of gen AI; More than 70% had concerns about gen AI's potential to create skill gaps and even replace human data and insights professionals; 62% of those currently employing gen AI in their work were using it to synthesize lengthy interview transcripts and other documents; 58% were using it to analyze data; 54% were using it to write reports; More than 80% agreed that it has the potential to significantly enhance personal productivity and efficiency and that integrating it into their work processes is critical for staying competitive; More than 80% believed that it will positively affect their industry overall by improving their jobs and driving significant innovation; 81% of the respondents already use or plan to use gen AI to create synthetic data; Only 31% rated the value of data produced by gen AI as "great"; 30% of respondents said that their company had used gen AI to guide decision-making that previously wouldn't have leveraged external data and insights; 81% of respondents reported using or planning to use gen AI to "listen to the market" and keep their organizations informed about the competitive environment; More than 40% are already experimenting with digital twins; 42% said that they planned to experiment with digital twins in the future; 77% have concerns about the potential for biased results Researchers identified the following four distinct classes of opportunities - (1) Supporting Current Practices: Apply the four core capabilities of gen AI - synthesis, coding (computer programming), human interaction, and writing - to each stage of the market research process; Makes the process faster, cheaper, or easier to scale up. (2) Replacing Current Practices: Leveraging synthetic data (data about people's preferences or behavior that's created by AI and not gathered through surveys or interviews). (3) Filling Existing Gaps in Market Understanding: Obtaining insights and evidence that aren't available in conventional data.(4) Creating New Types of Data and Insights: Creating "digital twins"; Gen AI can conduct insightful interviews of the synthetic respondents it has created. Read on...

Columbia Business School: How Gen AI Is Transforming Market Research
Authors: Jeremy Korst, Stefano Puntoni, Olivier Toubia

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