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.

← All brands

Enterprise AI agents · PUBLIC RESEARCH BRIEF

SalesforceWhat gets an AI agent beyond the pilot?

Salesforce positions Agentforce as an AI agent platform for customer and employee workflows, including service. Its product page describes agent building, human handoffs and observability. Those are vendor descriptions, not independent evidence of customer results.

Sources checked 2026-09-18 · 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 Salesforce Agentforce, which proof would move a service AI evaluation forward: reliable human escalation, observable task outcomes or faster initial deployment? Compare the needs of service, IT and security roles.

Set up this study →

What objections could keep an Agentforce pilot from reaching production? Distinguish data readiness, integration work, risk controls and budget ownership without assuming failures.

Set up this study →

Would an Agentforce message centered on reliable resolution or broad automation earn greater buying-committee confidence? Hold capabilities constant and identify evidence required for each claim.

Set up this study →

PROPOSED AUDIENCE

Who should weigh in?

North American service, operations, IT, security and procurement leaders at companies with 200 or more employees evaluating enterprise AI agents. Include sponsors, administrators, frontline users and risk reviewers within a buying committee. Proposed research audience only.

TWO TIME HORIZONS

Trial today. A habit tomorrow?

Near term · 0–90 days

Test credibility, pilot willingness and the proof required by each approver. Keep demo appeal distinct from permission to handle real customer cases.

Longer term · 3–12 months

Explore sustained adoption conditional on reliable operation, workable escalation and ongoing oversight. Identify what could reverse an early positive reaction.

What would make the result actionable?

Measure pilot-to-production conversion, task completion, escalation quality, rework and total operating cost. A revenue or savings estimate requires observed performance and the complete cost of deployment.

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

Public sources

Salesforce Agentforce product overview ↗Current product page; checked 2026-09-18