What We Heard at IIEX Europe
Rep Data Team · July 24, 2026 · 4 min read
What We Heard at IIEX Europe
We came back from Amsterdam with lots of notes. Looking through them afterwards, a handful of sessions kept earning a second look and we wanted to share them with you here in case you missed the show. They covered different topics, but many of the questions being asked were surprisingly similar.
Rep Data's Julia Mittermayr and Florian Kogl attended IIEX Europe a couple weeks ago, spending two days in sessions and meeting with researchers from across Europe (and beyond!). Here are a few observations that stayed with us after the conference.
The AI discussion has become much more practical
The conference agenda was packed with AI topics, with many sessions focusing on how organizations are using AI within research workflows and on implementation. Where does AI save time? Where does human review belong? How should automated outputs be checked before they become part of a report or recommendation?
ESOMAR's session, "Beyond the Answer," looked at how the structure of the research industry is changing. Global industry revenue now stands at about $54 billion, with 29% coming from research software and another 6% from reporting, according to ESOMAR's latest figures. Those numbers help explain why so many discussions at IIEX Europe focused on software, AI and automation alongside more traditional research topics. This session also explored how generative AI, self-service platforms and automated reporting are changing research workflows while placing greater emphasis on methodology, governance and quality assurance.
Later, Inspirient's session on AI-driven quantitative analysis addressed a question many research teams are already working through. Large language models generate language exceptionally well, but statistical testing still requires statistical methods. They explained how their workflow separated quantitative analysis from AI-generated summaries while preserving a clear path back to the underlying calculations. We saw this in other sessions too, where the speakers were describing AI as another tool inside the research process rather than the process itself.
Original data still carries the weight
A great talk from Human8, "Escaping the Sea of Sameness," argued that organizations relying on the same public information and the same generative models often reach similar conclusions. Their presentation focused on collecting original observations through communities, cultural research and direct engagement with consumers. This is such an important thing to remember in the research process!
Bose arrived at a related point through a completely different subject. In "AI, Color Science, Human Insight: Cracking Bose's Color Code," the company explained how behavioral research, predictive eye tracking and color science informed product design decisions across different markets. Bose tested more than 10,000 tonalities and found color changes increased preference by 3–6 percentage points, depending on market. Color choices were tested with consumers rather than selected by preference or instinct. Both of these particular presentations depended on collecting information that came directly from consumers before AI entered the picture.
Research still has to help someone make a decision
In "How to Translate Consumer Insights Into Business Solutions," Jack Link's, the world's largest manufacturer of jerky and meat snacks, shared how consumer insights support product development and commercial decisions across its EMEA business. One case study explored the launch of a beer brand in Russia, where research found many blue-collar workers still felt excluded in the post-Soviet era. Positioning the brand as "strong beer for strong men" connected with that audience and helped drive its success. The session also emphasized building insights around genuine human truths, using concept testing to improve innovation, making the most of smaller research teams with modern tools, and continuing to adapt digital strategies to better engage Gen Z.
Overall, the emphasis on connecting research to business decisions appeared just as often as discussions about AI. Every presenter had different examples and different technology, but many of the sessions focused on helping organizations make decisions they could support with evidence.
Walking away from IIEX Europe, we weren't thinking about a single product announcement or demonstration. We were thinking about research processes! AI featured in nearly every session, but the discussions that stayed with us were about verification, methodology and the quality of the information entering those systems. Those are also the subjects we spend the most time discussing with clients, so much of the conference felt immediately familiar. Want to learn more about what we learned and how we use AI in our workflows to serve our clients? Reach out to us!