What is synthetic research?

Synthetic research uses AI-powered personas that simulate how real buyers, customers, or market segments would respond to your research questions. It produces directional signal — insights to sharpen your hypotheses — before you invest in real primary fieldwork. Gather Synthetic runs AI-moderated interviews across any audience archetype in minutes, not weeks.

How is synthetic research different from real research?

Synthetic research generates directional signal using AI personas, while real primary research collects data from actual people. Synthetic pre-research is faster (minutes vs. weeks), cheaper, and ideal for hypothesis generation and stakeholder alignment. It is not statistically valid and should be used to focus and prioritize real fieldwork, not replace it. Gather offers both synthetic pre-research and real AI-moderated interviews with actual respondents.

What types of research can Gather Synthetic run?

Gather Synthetic supports 14 study types: Brand Perception, Product Feedback, Concept Testing, Competitive Intelligence, CX/NPS Deep Dive, Messaging & Claims Testing, Win/Loss Analysis, Market Segmentation, Pricing Research, Ad & Creative Testing, Customer Journey Mapping, Feature Prioritization, Churn & Retention Analysis, and Audience Discovery.

How much does synthetic research cost?

The first 5 synthetic interviews are free. After that, B2C audience interviews cost $0.50 each and B2B audience interviews cost $5.00 each. There is no subscription required.

How accurate is synthetic research?

Synthetic research is directional, not statistically accurate. Confidence scores reflect internal AI response consistency, not statistical significance. Quantitative projections carry a ±15–20% margin of error. Treat findings as educated hypotheses to validate with real primary research, not as definitive measurements.

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Home furnishing & digital planning · PUBLIC RESEARCH BRIEF

IKEADoes a room plan become a purchase?

IKEA’s US planning page offers IKEA Kreativ for exploring furniture in a virtual room or a scanned space, alongside room and product planners and planning services. Those tools create a useful distinction to test: enjoying a design is not the same as being ready to buy the items in it.

Sources checked 2026-09-19 · Simulation results not yet generated

Test a question in Gather ↗Explore fictional demo →

CHANGE ONE THING. LEARN WHAT MATTERS.

Three questions for the GTM team.

For IKEA shoppers furnishing a living room, would seeing products in their own scanned space or in a styled virtual room make the next purchase decision clearer? Keep the products and prices the same, and distinguish visual appeal from confidence about dimensions.

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Would a proposed measurement checklist before saving an IKEA room plan help a shopper identify missing information sooner? Test a simple prototype against the existing planning journey. Do not assume IKEA currently provides this checklist or that it prevents returns.

Set up this study →

When an IKEA shopper likes a digital room plan but is not ready to buy, would an offer to discuss the plan with a planning specialist be more useful than another product recommendation? Test the unresolved decision, and do not promise appointment availability or included services.

Set up this study →

PROPOSED AUDIENCE

Who should weigh in?

US adults planning a living-room or home-office furnishing purchase, including renters and homeowners with different room sizes, budgets and familiarity with IKEA. Include people comfortable using planning tools and people who prefer staff help. These are proposed recruitment criteria, not measured IKEA segments.

TWO TIME HORIZONS

Trial today. A habit tomorrow?

Near term · 0–90 days

Over 0–90 days, observe shoppers completing a real room-planning task and deciding what information they still need. Compare saved plans, verified measurements, qualified planning appointments and purchases separately. Do not count tool engagement as incremental sales.

Longer term · 3–12 months

Over 3–12 months, follow consenting shoppers after delivery and use. Ask whether the chosen furniture met the original space and storage needs, whether the plan changed and whether the tool is useful for a second room. Keep satisfaction, returns and repeat buying as separate outcomes.

What would make the result actionable?

Link opt-in planning sessions to verified purchase and delivery records, with stock, delivery cost and room constraints recorded. Compare like-for-like shoppers or randomize the proposed experience where feasible. Investigate return reasons rather than assuming a visualization caused or prevented them; validate any commercial effect with observed transactions.

A Gather simulation returns hypothetical customer reactions. Quantifying revenue, traffic or retention needs actual business inputs and validation against observed behavior.

Public sources

IKEA US design tools, Kreativ and planning services ↗Current product page; checked 2026-09-19