AI vs. Human Insight: Who Wins in Creative Strategy Decisions?

January 7, 2026

Is AI ready to accurately predict creative strategy choices?

// By Deb Pappas //

Deb Pappas, Connecticut Children’sAs Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to reshape how marketers gather insights, test hypotheses, and make creative decisions, an increasingly important question has emerged: Is AI ready to accurately predict which creative strategy will resonate most with consumers? Or does traditional (human) consumer research still matter most when nuance, emotion, and authenticity are paramount?

To explore this question, Connecticut Children’s undertook a side-by-side test during the development of the next phase of creative for our brand campaign surrounding the December 2025 opening of a new patient tower in Hartford, Connecticut.

The test combined traditional human-centered market research with AI-generated “deep research” insights, allowing a comparison of declarative results versus predictions. The findings offered a nuanced perspective of AI’s current strengths and limitations when applied to creative strategy decision-making.

Can AI-generated market research replace traditional market research? Read on to see how AI-generated research measured up.


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