From the rise of AI explainability to the return of ‘old school qual,’ here’s what’s been shaping the insight space this month.

🔁 Quick Pulse: What We’re Hearing

💬 “Senior stakeholders are buying into AI… but still want to see the workings.”

💬 “There’s fatigue around dashboards, people want decisions, not data dumps.”

💬 “Clients are coming back to qual, they miss the ‘why’ behind the numbers.”

After two years of tech hype, there’s a pivot back toward insight with narrative… not just metrics.

🧠 One Big Trend: AI Explainability Hits the Insight Agenda

2025 saw mass adoption of AI for concept testing, coding qual, and predictive modelling. But now in 2026, trust and transparency are the key concerns, especially when insights are used to shape customer experience or comms.

🧪 Example: Samsung worked with a research agency to pilot an “AI explainability layer” – a human-readable narrative that outlines how and why the model reached its recommendation. This helped align insight with compliance, brand tone, and stakeholder buy-in.

“Black box” AI won’t cut it anymore… clients want to see behind the curtain.

🔍 Method Spotlight: Vox Pop Reels for Instant Storytelling

Short-form video isn’t just for TikTok anymore. Researchers are embracing 60-second vox pops as fast, rich, human-centred data capture.

🎤 Brands are using:

• Selfie-style responses via mobile
• On-street intercepts with social-style editing
• Quick-turn showreels for stakeholder buy-in

👟 Example: New Balance used vox pop reels to test cultural relevance of a brand refresh across Gen Z consumers in the UK and US. The results? Stakeholders described the output as “more convincing than a slide deck”.

It’s qual, but creator-style… human, raw, and powerful.

🚀 Brand to Watch: Pret A Manger

Pret has quietly become a testing powerhouse, using CRM and loyalty data to trial new product lines, formats, and messaging at speed.

In Feb, it launched a micro-test of new vegan breakfast options via app-exclusive offers with instant feedback loops via 2-click polls and purchase behaviour tracking. 4 variations, 1 week, and a decision made.

It’s a lesson in using what you already have to test smarter, not bigger.

📊 Smart Stat

📈 63% of insight teams say they’re “over-reliant” on past data, but only 27% have a proactive plan for live testing in 2026. (Source: Insight Leaders Barometer, February 2026)

The insight edge this year? Being braver in the present, not just smarter about the past.

Editor’s Note — Capability Isn’t the Problem
One of the most common frustrations I hear from strategists, researchers, and insight leaders isn’t about skill. It’s about stalling. They’re delivering strong work. They’re trusted. They’re often told they’re “doing really well.” And yet — opportunities pass them by. This isn’t a confidence issue. And it isn’t a performance issue. It’s a visibility gap.

Market Signal — When Good Work Disappears

Research backs this up.

• Harvard Business Review shows employees who actively communicate their reasoning and progress are 23% more likely to be rated as high performers, even when output is comparable.

• McKinsey research consistently finds that visibility with decision-makers outweighs technical excellence as a predictor of advancement in knowledge roles.

• Microsoft’s Work Trend Index reports that nearly 60% of leaders feel they lack visibility into how work actually gets done — especially in hybrid teams. At the same time, Gartner predicts that by 2026, over 80% of knowledge work outputs will involve AI assistance, creating what it calls a “contribution blur.” When output is easy to generate, only visible thinking gets recognised.

Frontline — “My Work Was Valued. My Thinking Wasn’t Visible.”

“I kept being told I was doing well — but the stretch roles went elsewhere. When I asked why, the feedback was vague. That’s when I realised something uncomfortable: my work was valued, but my thinking wasn’t visible.” This story is increasingly common. AI accelerates delivery. Collaboration diffuses ownership. And unless reasoning is surfaced deliberately, judgment disappears behind the artefact.

Sharp Skill — Making Thinking Visible

Visibility isn’t about being louder. It’s about making your thinking legible. In AI-accelerated environments, thinking that isn’t visible is assumed not to exist. Practically, this means:

1. Narrating intent; what problem are we solving, and why?

2. Surfacing trade-offs; what options were rejected, and on what basis?

3. Closing the loop; what changed because of this work?

This isn’t self-promotion. It’s strategic transparency.

Case in Point — Quiet Capability, Amplified

One insight lead didn’t change role or employer. Instead, she changed how her work showed up. She framed insight as decision support, documented judgment not just conclusions, and made trade-offs explicit in senior forums. Within months, her influence grew. Not because she became louder, but because her thinking became easier to trust.

Closing Thought

Capability still matters. But capability without visibility now carries a cost. In a market full of output, influence flows to those whose thinking can be seen.

Written by Francis Nicholson – Expert in recruiting for Insight and Strategy roles.