Emotional Connection: Why GenAI Needs Continuous Insight Into Real Human Behavior

By Mia Noble

June 2, 2025

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Who wants to be average?

On Monday, May 19th Sentient’s Dr. Aaron Reid addressed this question on stage at FEI. As Generative AI becomes a standard tool for rapid consumer insights, it’s important to remember that past preferences aren’t indicative of current behavior. Sentient’s session emphasized the need for continuous testing to prevent regression to the mean and enhance predictive accuracy.

The presentation opened by framing the challenges in our current approach to understanding consumers. Dr. Reid then transitioned into making the invisible visible—using automated behavioral science and AI to reveal unspoken motivations. With the problem and solution clearly defined, the discussion shifted to innovation and design.

The next segment of the talk provided attendees with real-world examples of successful innovations from brand extension and concept development to market messaging launch. After demonstrating the utility of a behavioral science-based approach, Reid moved the discussion toward generative AI and synthetic data, explaining model collapse and how to avoid it. The session ended by highlighting the benefits and oportunity of AI for the future of human insights.

Key Takeaways

Learn how AI and implicit technology uncovers whitespace opportunities and reduces risk—identifying unmet consumer needs and hidden drivers of choice
Investigate the power of continuous testing in innovation, elevating message performance, accelerating learning, and optimizing new product launch campaigns
Explore how AI is reshaping market research, delivering deeper insight into human motivation and driving smarter, more impactful brand decisions
Discover how Insights roles will increase, not decrease, in value as Generative AI models are adopted by brands