Join Simpson Carpenter and M&S at the IIEX.AI Conference 2026
Why give AI a face? And what difference does it make to what people feel comfortable to say?
On 24th September, our very own Pui-Tien Man and Rhiannon Price will join Benedict Kenney from Marks & Spencer Fashion, Home & Beauty at the IIEX.AI Conference 2026 to explore these questions. Our session, Facing Tomorrow: M&S’s Journey with Humanoid Avatars, will share learnings from our research project using Quasai, our avatar-moderated research platform.
For insight teams, the challenge is familiar: hearing from more customers while retaining the depth needed to understand their choices. With M&S, we explored footwear occasions and what customers really mean by terms such as 'Stylish' and 'Comfortable', helping the team identify opportunities for growth.
The session also looks at what shapes these conversations - how to make participants feel freer and less judged, giving them more freedom to express themselves. We'll explore the behavioural science behind this response and why a humanlike interface can make a difference for more inclusive research.
Alongside the findings, we'll also dive into the researcher expertise needed to make the approach useful. Avatar moderation adds a new environment to the research toolkit, but human judgement remains central to deciding when and how to use it - as well as to ensure it behaves as intended!
Join us online on Thursday 24th September, 17:10-17:30 BST, for the full story and M&S's perspective on its value - it's free to register, and those with On-Demand Access can view the recording until March 2027.
