Automation, machine learning and AI in market research: the basics

With technology evolving at dizzying speeds, new terminology pops out of the woodwork every five minutes. While it's generally pretty easy to understand the gist of these new words, sometimes the real meaning is lost on us.

"These technologies have huge implications for our industry, well beyond the genuine benefits of saving time and money."

For example, in the market research industry, we throw around words like "machine learning," "automation," and "artificial intelligence" – often using them interchangeably. But how many of us know what they mean, especially in the context of market research?

Saida Eldon and Horst Feldhaeuser from the Infotools Client Services team defined these terms in an article for the October-November 2018 edition of Research News, published by the Australian Market and Social Research Society (AMSRS). Download the PDF to see how they describe the difference between automation, machine learning, and AI, and how the market research industry is applying them.