More Organizations Connect Consumer Data, but Satisfaction with Insights Falls

New Zappi research finds 93% of organizations use AI, but just 8% are AI-accelerated, revealing a widening gap between technology adoption and connected consumer learning

BOSTON, Sept. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Organizations are making progress connecting consumer data, but expectations for what insights should deliver are rising faster, according to new study from Zappi.

Zappi's third annual Connected Insights Imperative 2026, based on a survey of more than 250 marketing and insights professionals, finds that 48% of organizations now have connected consumer insights and data, up from 38% in 2025. Yet overall satisfaction with the insights function fell from 60% to 48% over the same period.

The findings point to a new imperative for marketing and insights leaders: move beyond connecting data to connecting learning across innovation, advertising and brand decisions.

Greater insights organization maturity delivers a human payoff: Organizations further along the Connected Insights maturity curve report significantly higher satisfaction with their insights function. Satisfaction rises from just 9% among disconnected organizations to 32% among fragmented, 62% among connected and 75% among AI-Accelerated organizations.

Connected organizations are also better able to bring together the "what" and the "why" of consumer behavior. Nearly half (47%) balance behavioral and performance data with consumer insight and motivational data, compared with just 14% of disconnected organizations.

The widening gap suggests connectedness is still paying off. But as more organizations centralize their consumer data, simply having connected insights is becoming table stakes. The next challenge is making that knowledge easier to apply and build upon across decisions.

AI is nearly universal, but AI-Acceleration isn't: 93% of organizations use AI in some form, but just 8% have reached the AI-Accelerated stage. The most common goals with AI were activities that improve processes. Data analysis and interpretation (39%), increasing productivity and efficiency (36%) and generating new ideas and concepts (33%) were the most commonly cited applications of AI.

AI-Accelerated organizations go further, using AI to surface relevant insights at key decision points — moving beyond efficiency toward more accessible, actionable consumer knowledge.

Insights professionals are also drawing clearer boundaries around AI. Just 7% of organizations are currently using synthetic respondents within their insights function. 47% are unwilling to use synthetic data for major decisions, compared with 18% of marketers. As more tools come to market, teams will need to decide where synthetic really adds value.

Marketing and Insights don't see consumer centricity the same way: Insights teams have become increasingly strategic, with 42% viewed as strategic partners and another 29% as proactive advisors. However, the perception of how insights are utilized to make creative decisions reveals a perception gap. 

When asked when consumers enter the advertising development process, 46% of Brand Management respondents say consumer feedback is gathered before creative development, compared with just 15% of Insights & Consumer Research professionals. The gap suggests that organizations may agree on the importance of consumer-centricity without sharing the same view of how consistently it happens in practice.

Connected Insights Flywheel
Zappi's research also introduces the Connected Insights Flywheel, a model for connecting consumer learning across advertising, innovation and brand so insights build on one another rather than live in separate research streams.

Innovation insights help organizations decide what to bring to market. Advertising insights help determine how to connect it with consumers. Brand insights show what happens once those decisions reach the market. That learning then feeds back into future decisions, creating a continuous system where each decision builds on what the organization already knows, so the next decision starts smarter than the last and better decisions compound into business growth.

"The further organizations progress on the Connected Insights curve, the more satisfied their people are with the insights function," said Nataly Kelly, CMO at Zappi. "That's an important reminder that the payoff from connected insights is ultimately human. When consumer understanding can build across innovation, advertising and brand, teams have a stronger foundation for making decisions together. AI can accelerate that learning, but it's the quality of the decisions that ultimately matters."

Zappi's Connected Insights Imperative 2026 tracks how insights teams operate, how organizations connect consumer data and how AI is changing the role of insights. This year's research assesses organizations across four levels of the Connected Insights Framework: Disconnected, Fragmented, Connected and AI-Accelerated.

For more findings and analysis, download the Connected Insights Imperative 2026.

ABOUT ZAPPI
Zappi is a leading consumer insights platform that helps brands win with consumers. Through AI-powered software that delivers connected insights, Zappi enables teams to make faster, smarter, consumer-driven decisions by leveraging real-time, continuous feedback.

Trusted by more than 350 brands worldwide, Zappi helps create successful products, develop impactful ads, and build winning brands by keeping the voice of the consumer at the heart of every decision. Named the Best Marketing Insights Platform by the MarTech Breakthrough Awards in both 2023 and 2024, recognized by Business Insider as one of the hottest martech companies, and winner of the MRS Best Technology Innovation Award 2025, Zappi is redefining how modern teams use insights to drive growth.

As a certified B-Corp, Zappi is committed to net-zero emissions, fostering an equitable workplace, and using technology to benefit the communities the company serves. With more than 300 employees across 13+ countries and offices in Boston, London, and Cape Town, Zappi's culture has been celebrated by Fast Company, Comparably, Quirks, Great Place to Work and more. To learn more, follow Zappi on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.

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SOURCE Zappi