Artificial Intelligence at Environics Research
Turning decades of data into faster, richer understanding.
Our approach to AI
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping how we understand markets and organizations. Like every sector of society and business, market research and business intelligence are being transformed, and faster than most have ever experienced.
At Environics Research, we understand that AI should do more than automate tasks. It should deepen understanding, unlock new forms of insight, and empower our clients to make better decisions with confidence and clarity.
Our AI journey – rooted in insight
Environics Research began investing in AI long before it was a buzzword. In 2006, we partnered with Nexalogy to explore how digital conversations could reveal deeper social and cultural trends, using early AI tools to expand our view beyond traditional surveys and focus groups and into emerging online communities. The analytical approaches, including machine learning that we applied then to streams of social media data, showed us what was possible.
Over the years, these early explorations laid groundwork for:
Social media and online intelligence
Contextual understanding of values and motivations
Advanced analytical frameworks that complement human judgment
But as computing power, large datasets and modern machine learning converged to deliver AI as it exists today, the possibilities changed dramatically. AI shifted from being possible to practical. In our practice, we have accelerated quickly from early experimentation to building real applications that go beyond saving time – instead creating capabilities we once only imagined.
From models to meaningful insight
We’ve moved from generic large language models to purpose-built AI tools woven into how we work:
AI doesn’t replace good research. It increases its power – extending what our experts can do, not substituting their judgement.
Barry Watson
President & CEO, Environics Research
Blocks – Environics Research proprietary AI platform
Blocks is an AI platform built by market researchers, for market researchers. It was designed specifically to work with the kinds of data we use every day — survey data, multiple choice questions, rankings, open ends, and more. Instead of forcing generic AI tools to understand research workflows, Blocks was built around the way researchers actually work.
01
What makes it unique
We built Blocks because we wanted complete control over security, privacy, and how data are handled. In an industry where client confidentiality matters, that control is essential. But while we insisted on security and control, we knew we needed to empower our team with AI tools – and we didn’t want to limit their access. Instead, we chose to embrace AI responsibly by providing them a secure environment to learn, adapt, and explore ways to deploy AI to enhance their work.
02
How it’s evolving
Blocks continues to grow alongside the needs of our team and our clients. We’re constantly refining the platform to better understand research data, improve workflows, and expand access to proprietary datasets and insights. Our goal is to use AI to genuinely enrich our research offering — not just to layer an impressive technology on top of existing approaches.
03
Our clients’ benefits
Blocks allows our team to securely interact with and analyze data in ways that are faster, smarter, and more flexible. Researchers can chat directly with datasets, use AI-assisted workflows, and access proprietary resources like Social Values within a protected environment designed around client privacy requirements. As the platform evolves, we’re looking forward to making these capabilities available directly to our clients — giving you the ability to interact with your own data, uncover insights faster, and access our proprietary knowledge through a secure AI experience.
AI meets decades of Social Values research
Our proprietary Social Values database is one of our most powerful assets. It includes millions of datapoints from decades of national and cross-national research. Traditional tools have always unlocked strong insights from this dataset, but AI allows us to talk to it in flexible, dynamic ways that were previously impossible.
By blending synthetic and derived data approaches with specialized AI applications, we can now help clients explore values, motivations and trends in real time — in ways that are intuitive, rigorous and grounded in evidence.
Responsible adoption, centred on governance
AI is not without risk. That’s why we invest heavily in thoughtful governance, controls and ethical safeguards to:
Protect privacy and data integrity
Test for biases and unintended effects
Ensure transparency and accountability
Align with legal and ethical best practices
Maintaining trust with clients, respondents, and the public is essential to our work and our reputation.
Thought Leaders
What are clients in marketing research thinking about artificial intelligence?
06/14/26
Barry Watson
Research
From the Open Banking Stage to the Future of Financial AI
03/03/26
Bernice Cheung
Thought Leaders
How AI Helps Me Leverage My ADHD in Research
03/18/25
Vijay Wadhawan
Talk to us about what’s next
Whether you’re just beginning your AI journey or looking to innovate at the leading edge, our team can help you apply AI in ways that fit your goals and standards.
Get in touch to explore AI-powered insight for your organization.
