Use case · Management & Strategy
Market Research Assistant
A market research assistant is an internal AI assistant your team uses to research a market before you sell into it. Name a niche or type of business and it writes structured research on how those businesses work, the language they use, what they buy and where they struggle, then answers your follow-up questions in the same conversation.
- Workflows to automation analysis
- 5 research areas
- Research saved to share
- Doc or PDF
- Private access
- Your team only
What is an AI market research assistant?
An AI market research assistant is a private chat agent that runs a structured research conversation about a niche. A team member names the type of business, and it writes a set of research articles covering the same areas every time, answers follow-up questions, and saves the result to a database or as a Doc or PDF to share.
We first built this assistant on Voiceflow, for AI developers researching the niches they sell into.
Why does researching a new market take so long?
Researching a new market takes days because someone has to learn how businesses in that niche actually run before your team can pitch, plan an offer or hold a credible sales conversation. Each person does it differently, from different sources, and the notes end up scattered across documents nobody can find later.
Days of reading before the first pitch
Workflows, terminology, products and problems all have to be pieced together from scratch.Different every time
Each person researches their own way, so two people looking at the same niche come back with different pictures.Notes nobody can find
The research lives in personal documents, so the next person starts again.
How does an AI market research assistant work?
An AI market research assistant works in four steps. A team member sets the brief by naming the niche and any angle they care about. The assistant writes research articles on that niche, answers follow-up questions in the same conversation, and the finished research is saved to a database or turned into a Doc or PDF.
With an AI chat agent (internal)
A team member opens the assistant in a private web chat, Telegram, WhatsApp or Slack and names the niche they want to research
Set the brief
The team member names the niche and business type, for example independent veterinary clinics or commercial cleaning companies, and any angle they care about.Write the research
The assistant produces a set of research articles on that niche, each covering one area.Answer follow-up questions
The team member asks about anything in the research, or anything it didn't cover, in the same conversation.Save the output
The finished research is sent to a database, or turned into a Doc or PDF when the team needs something to share.
With AI automations
A research run is finished
Save it
Each piece of research goes to Airtable or another database, with the niche and the date.Format it
It's turned into a formatted Doc or PDF.Share it
The right people get it.Add current sources
Where scoped, the assistant is given web search or scraping tools, so its research draws on current sources as well as the AI model's own knowledge.
What does the research cover?
The research covers five areas by default: end-to-end workflows, terminology, products and services, pain points, and an automation analysis of where AI could help. The areas are set during the build to match what your team needs, so a sales team might add buying triggers and objections, and a product team competing products.
| Research article | What it covers |
|---|---|
| End-to-end workflows | How a typical business in the niche runs, step by step, from first enquiry to delivery and follow-up |
| Terminology | The terms, abbreviations and jargon people in the niche use, so your team speaks their language |
| Products and services | What businesses in the niche sell, and the tools and services they buy |
| Pain points | Where time, money and customers are lost, and what frustrates owners and staff |
| Automation analysis | Which parts of those workflows could be automated or supported by AI, and how |
Which systems deliver it?
A market research assistant is delivered by an internal AI chat agent, which runs the research conversation and answers follow-up questions, and AI automations, which save each piece of research to a database, format it as a Doc or PDF and share it. Web search or scraping tools can be added where your research needs current sources.
| System | Trigger | What it does | Package note |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Chat Agents | A team member names a niche to research | Writes structured research articles and answers follow-up questions | Internal agent on a private web chat, Telegram, WhatsApp or Slack |
| AI Automations | A research run is finished | Saves it to Airtable or another database, formats a Doc or PDF and shares it | Web search or scraping tools added where scoped |
Where is it used?
A market research assistant suits any team about to sell into, build for or advise a market it doesn't know yet. Agencies use it to choose and enter a new niche, B2B sales teams to prepare for a new industry, and consultancies to get up to speed on a client's sector before an engagement starts.
Same job, their words
Choosing a niche. Before building an offer for a new industry, the team runs the assistant on two or three candidates and compares their workflows, pain points and where automation fits.
What should you know before you start?
AI-written research is a starting point, not the final word. It's a fast way to understand a niche, but check key facts, figures and regulations before relying on them, and test what you learn with real businesses. Without a web search tool, the assistant works from the AI model's general knowledge, which may be out of date.
- A starting point, not the final word. Check key facts, figures and regulations before you rely on them, and talk to real businesses in the market.
- Current information needs a search tool. Without web search, the assistant works from the AI model's general knowledge. We'll advise whether your use needs a search or scraping tool.
- Access is controlled. Only the team members you choose can use it.
How would we build it for you?
We haven't built a market research assistant for a client yet. For your team, we'd agree the research areas you need, set the assistant up on the channel your team uses, decide whether it needs web search for current information, and set up where the research is saved and who it's shared with.
- Niche namedcommercial cleaning
- Workflows writtenenquiry → delivery
- Terms explainedindustry jargon
- Pain points listedmargins
- Automation analysiswhere AI fits
- Saved as PDFteam database
Here's an illustrative run. An agency deciding whether to sell to commercial cleaning companies names the niche. The assistant writes articles on how a cleaning company wins and runs contracts, the industry's terms, the services and tools it relies on, the problems that eat into margins and where automation could help. The consultant asks a few follow-up questions and saves the research as a PDF for the team's planning meeting.
Frequently asked questions
Questions
Answer
How accurate is AI market research?
AI market research is accurate enough to give your team a fast, structured first look at a niche, not to base a decision on alone. The research is AI-written, so check key facts, figures and regulations before relying on them, and test what you learn by talking to real businesses in the market. Adding web search helps with fast-moving markets.
Does the assistant use live web data?
Only if you want it to. By default, a market research assistant works from the AI model's own general knowledge, which may be out of date for fast-moving markets. Where scoped, we give it web search or scraping tools so its research draws on current sources too. We'll advise on the discovery call whether your use needs them.
Can we change what the research covers?
Yes. The five default areas are end-to-end workflows, terminology, products and services, pain points and an automation analysis, but the research areas are set during the build to match what your team needs to know. A sales team might add buying triggers and common objections, and a product team might add competing products.
Where is the research saved?
Each piece of research is saved to Airtable or another database with the niche and the date, so the next person who needs it can find it. When the team needs something to share, automations turn it into a formatted Doc or PDF and send it to the right people. Nothing stays buried in one person's chat history.
How is it different from asking ChatGPT about a market?
A market research assistant covers the same research areas every time, whoever runs it, so two people researching the same niche get comparable results. It's built around the questions your team needs answered, it can use web search where scoped, and every piece of research is saved in one shared place instead of scattered across personal chats.