Episode Overview
Frédéric-Charles Petit, Founder and CEO of Toluna, on building a 25-year-old consumer insights company for the age of AI.
Episode Highlights
- Four pillars, one platform. Toluna's model combines a global consumer panel, proprietary technology, specialist methodology, and people to deliver integrated consumer insight at scale for enterprise brands.
- Synthetic personas grounded in real data. Toluna's AI-driven synthetic personas were built on a foundation of first-party panel data and machine learning developed from 2019 — well before the generative AI boom — enabling fast, high-correlation answers to real business questions.
- AI as the engine of democratisation. Frédéric-Charles argues that AI is the most significant transformation force in market research, enabling research to move at the speed at which content is now created and decisions are now made.
- From gatekeeper to door opener. The insights function inside enterprise organisations is shifting — from controlling access to research to enabling broader teams to act on consumer data with confidence and speed.
- Adoption is maturing, not just experimenting. Customer uptake of AI-first research solutions at Toluna has already surpassed full-year revenues from the previous year, pointing to a market that is moving from pilot to embedded practice.
- Strategy and tactics in equal measure. After 25 years building Toluna, Frédéric-Charles's core leadership lesson is the need to balance long-term strategy with close operational involvement — what he calls "top down and bottom up."
About the Guest
Frédéric-Charles Petit is the Founder and CEO of Toluna, a global digital consumer insights company he has built over more than 25 years. Under his leadership, Toluna has evolved from a panel provider into a technology-driven insight platform serving enterprise brands worldwide.
The company's current focus is on embedding AI across both quantitative and qualitative research, including the development of synthetic personas and AI-powered ad testing tools. Frédéric-Charles is based in France and is a long-standing figure in the research technology industry.
Learn more about the impact of technology and AI on research, insights & analytics at Insight Platforms.
