AI won’t replace market research. But it will expose weak strategy

Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping how organisations think about data, decision-making and growth. In market research and strategy consulting, its impact is already visible in the speed with which information can be processed, the scale of analysis that can be undertaken, and the increasing ability to move beyond descriptive reporting toward predictive insight.  

For businesses operating in volatile and fast-changing markets, this represents a meaningful shift. The challenge many organisations face today is not the absence of data, but rather the difficulty of translating growing volumes of information into decisions that are commercially sound, strategically relevant and responsive to changing market realities. 

In our business, we see AI as an important enabler of this next phase of market intelligence. The technology materially improves our ability to synthesise complex datasets, identify emerging patterns, model scenarios, and accelerate the journey from information to insight.  

In this sense, AI is not simply an operational efficiency tool; it has the potential to fundamentally improve how organisations anticipate market change, understand consumer behaviour and make strategic choices with greater confidence. 

The reality in Africa 

However, much of the broader conversation around AI assumes conditions that do not consistently exist across many African markets. Global discussions often presume access to clean, structured, continuously updated datasets capable of producing reliable machine-led interpretation.  

The reality across much of sub-Saharan Africa is more complex. Significant portions of economic activity remain informal, consumer behaviour is often shaped by rapidly shifting economic pressures, distribution systems are fragmented, and formal reporting mechanisms frequently provide only partial visibility into how markets actually function. In such environments, data interpretation is rarely a straightforward technical exercise. 

Find out more about how Soyinka Witness, Director for Sub-Saharan Africa at Ipsos Strategy3, believes AI will not replace market research but will expose weak strategy faster, in Issue 2 2026 of Strategic Marketing for Africa, the thought-leadership magazine of the African Marketing Confederation.  

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