In today’s fast-paced business world, making informed decisions quickly is imperative. Enterprises and research teams are constantly under pressure to gather insights, and the traditional methods of conducting qualitative research interviews can be both time-consuming and resource-intensive. The situation is compounded by recent layoffs in the industry, which have strained research capabilities. However, Outset, a company utilizing the power of GPT-4, OpenAI’s flagship text-generating AI model, is changing the game. They’ve developed an innovative solution to autonomously conduct and synthesize interviews, significantly reducing the time and resources needed for data collection.
Traditionally, qualitative research projects involved countless hours of work from researchers and often necessitated scheduling and conducting interviews with clients’ customers. Aaron Cannon, co-founder of Outset and former strategist at Deloitte, understands the challenges that researchers face. He states, “Enterprise decision makers expect faster and faster results from insights teams.” This growing pressure has been exacerbated by industry layoffs in 2022, which have made it even more difficult for insights teams to keep up with the pace of decision-making.
The core issue lies in the demand for speedier insights versus the industry’s ability to deliver. The delay in gathering qualitative data often hampers a company’s ability to respond to market changes and make informed decisions. In the face of these challenges, Cannon and his team recognized the need for a tool that could accelerate and amplify their work.
To address these challenges, Aaron Cannon joined forces with Michael Hess, a colleague from their time at Untapped, a talent recruiting startup. Together, they founded Outset, a Y Combinator-backed company that leverages AI technology to conduct and synthesize interviews. Outset utilizes GPT-4, OpenAI’s flagship text-generating AI model, to lead interviews with research study participants.
The process begins with users creating a survey and sharing the survey link with prospective respondents. Outset, powered by GPT-4, takes it from there. It follows up with respondents, seeking clarification on their answers and creating a conversational rapport to elicit deeper and more informative responses.
Outset’s real strength lies in its ability to automate many aspects of qualitative data collection. Instead of manual transcription and analysis, GPT-4 handles the tasks with efficiency. For every question, the AI model generates themes, tallies response counts, and highlights key quotes, ultimately weaving the data into a coherent narrative. This automation significantly reduces the time and effort required to transform raw responses into actionable insights.
Cannon explains, “Today, much of the work to collect and analyze qualitative data is done manually. In that way, we’re competing with the late nights I used to spend reading transcripts and scheduling interviews as a consultant.” Outset’s vision is to expand the market for research, making user insights faster and more accessible to teams across businesses.
While Outset is still in its early stages, the platform has already demonstrated its effectiveness. WeightWatchers, a well-known brand in the health and wellness industry, leveraged Outset to conduct and synthesize over 100 interviews in just 24 hours. The results of these interviews are now being used to propose a new framework for user segmentation at WeightWatchers.
This success story illustrates the tangible benefits of leveraging AI for qualitative research. WeightWatchers was able to gather and process a substantial amount of data in a remarkably short period, a feat that would have been arduous and time-consuming with traditional methods.
The challenges faced by insights and research teams have been further exacerbated by the broader economic slowdown and associated layoffs in the industry. Despite these obstacles, the demands from business leaders to make more informed and strategic decisions continue to grow. The business landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, and companies cannot afford to fall behind. This is where technology, like the one offered by Outset, comes into play.
Aaron Cannon notes, “The broader slowdown and associated layoffs have hit research and insights teams disproportionately hard. But the demands from business leaders to make more informed and strategic decisions have not slowed down, leading to expectations of doing more with less.”
This scenario creates a significant opportunity for companies like Outset as businesses increasingly turn to technology to amplify their work. As the economy experiences fluctuations, AI-powered tools in everyday knowledge work are in high demand, providing an additional tailwind for innovative companies in the space.
Outset is set to capitalize on its early success and growing demand for its services. The company recently raised $3.8 million in a funding round led by Adverb Ventures, with participation from Weekend Fund and Jack Altman, brother of Sam Altman. This funding infusion will support Outset’s plans to expand its team from four full-time employees to six by the end of the year.
Aaron Cannon emphasizes, “We just raised our seed, and our team is small, so we’re keeping our burn rate low.” This prudent financial strategy ensures the company’s sustainability in an uncertain economic climate.
Cannon continues, “Despite the broader economic slowdown, there’s increasing demand for AI-powered tools in everyday knowledge work, giving us another tailwind. Between our seed round of funding, low burn, and accelerating tailwinds, we’re well-positioned to weather any storm.”
Outset’s journey is a testament to the transformative potential of AI in the field of qualitative research. As businesses in South Africa and around the world strive to make quicker, data-driven decisions, companies like Outset are poised to play a pivotal role in driving efficiency and effectiveness in the realm of insights and research.
In an era where speed and accuracy are paramount, harnessing the power of AI, as demonstrated by Outset, is a critical step toward staying competitive in today’s dynamic business landscape.
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