Startup Wizer releases AI-based marketing survey platform

Israeli startup Wizer — backed by market researcher Nielsen’s incubator in that country — is launching a new artificial intelligence-powered survey platform.

The platform parses various business reports and other sources to assemble background information in specific industry verticals, like ready meals or food/beverages. Currently, the focus is on consumer packaged goods (CPG) and retailers, although new categories can be built.

Marketers define goals, then answer a series of questions. The platform pulls appropriate questions from hundreds pre-written by human researchers, and the questions are auto-assembled, without any writing by the marketer, into an online questionnaire of 25–30 questions. The platform learns about a specific business from the questionnaire’s results and feedback from the business.

The questionnaire is then made available to an online panel of paid respondents via the UK-based firm Lucid. Answers are collected and analyzed, and a report is generated. At key steps, a human market researcher reviews the generated material.

The whole process, according to co-founder and VP of Business Development and Product Marketing Idan Geva, takes less than 48 hours, compared to weeks that an agency might take. He said that his company’s surveys cost about 70 percent less than agency-managed ones and that marketers don’t need to know anything about market research.

Geva told me that the survey might be used, for instance, by a CPG maker looking to get feedback on a soon-to-be-released new product, or companies looking to test out new packaging, a rebranding or some new initial product ideas.

Questions might relate to ad effectiveness, brand recognition, the viability of a concept or customer satisfaction. In addition to raw results, the platform can also suggest your target audience and likely competitors. Here’s a screen shot of some results:

Currently, Geva said, Wizer has about 20 customer companies in the Europe, the US and Israel, including SodaStream and plastics maker Keter.

The main competitor for a similar AI-powered survey tool, he said, is the UK-based startup Zappistore. But, he added, Wizer offers automated customization and can provide company-specific benchmarks over time, while Zappistore projects are one-offs that do not allow customization.

About The Author

Barry Levine

Barry Levine covers marketing technology for Third Door Media. Previously, he covered this space as a Senior Writer for VentureBeat, and he has written about these and other tech subjects for such publications as CMSWire and NewsFactor. He founded and led the web site/unit at PBS station Thirteen/WNET; worked as an online Senior Producer/writer for Viacom; created a successful interactive game, PLAY IT BY EAR: The First CD Game; founded and led an independent film showcase, CENTER SCREEN, based at Harvard and M.I.T.; and served over five years as a consultant to the M.I.T. Media Lab. You can find him at LinkedIn, and on Twitter at xBarryLevine.