How AI and Human-Led Research Are Rewriting the Rules of Qualitative Insights: Inside Our Q3 2025 Release

By Adam Mertz, Chief Growth Officer at Discuss

What if the future of research wasn’t either/or? What if it was yes/and?

There’s this tension in the market right now, like everyone’s being forced to pick a side:

Do you want speed and scale with AI?
Or do you want empathy and nuance from live conversations?

At Discuss, we think that’s the wrong question. The real opportunity isn’t in choosing sides. It’s in combining the best of both. And with our latest launch, we’re showing what that future actually looks like.

Enter: The Hybrid Market Insights Platform

Today we’re dropping a release that builds upon our strengths in bringing AI-led research and human-moderated conversations together in a single, unified platform.

So you can still have those rich, live interviews with real people (because let’s be real: there’s no way brands are going to stop wanting to talk directly to their consumers). But now you’ve also got agents that can find your audience in under an hour, run AI-led video interviews that feel natural and smart, and auto-synthesize themes across all your qual, past and present

And that’s just scratching the surface.

Vibe Coding: From Dev Talk to Decision-Making

We’re introducing a term with this launch: vibe coding.

It originated from software devs who have made it possible with AI for non-coders to develop an app by simply describing what they want.

In our world, vibe coding means anyone, especially non-researchers, can get insights by just describing what they want to learn. Our AI takes it from there. It books participants, runs interviews, spots patterns, and delivers actionable themes. Fast.

Vibe coding for market insights is about giving everyone the power to get closer to the customer. Product managers, brand leaders, designers, marketers, you name it.

AI Video Interviews That Actually Feel Human

Let’s talk about our enhanced Interview Agent for a second.

Not only can it handle interviews in dozens of languages, it now does it on video, with real-time adaptation.

• Want to test ad concepts? Upload and get authentic reactions.
• Need a mobile shop-along or in-home tour? Flip the camera.
• Want to understand user experience for a new website? Share and track.
• Curious about tone, body language, vibes? It’s all there.
  

No more flat transcripts or missed reactions. You get rich, visual feedback and intelligent, customizable follow-ups, like an all-star moderator who doesn’t sleep.

Instant Audience Access, Global Reach

Our Project Agent is now your backstage pass to over 3 million vetted participants across 150 countries.

Healthcare. B2B. Gen Z. You name it, we’ve got them. And responses come in within hours, not weeks.

So if your team’s tired of playing the waiting game, this one’s a game-changer.

Insights Agent = Your Living Knowledge Base

You ever captured really great insights and then… never leveraged them? It happens more often than you’d think.

That’s why we built Cross-Project Summaries into our Insights Agent. It automatically connects the dots between past and present projects, making all your insights searchable and reusable.

No more reinventing the wheel. Just faster, smarter decisions fueled by everything your team already knows.

What It All Adds Up To

This launch is about more than features. It’s a signal. Choosing between AI or human-led research is behind us.

We’re entering an exciting time where you can get the best of both worlds. Where anyone can get closer to customers, fast, without sacrificing human understanding.

We’re excited to be leading this shift.

See all the details in our press release.