AI is creating 1000x professionals. The question is: will you be one of them or replaced by them?
I recently started a Substack newsletter called Sean’s AI Signal that highlights the 3 to 5 most interesting posts of the week regarding AI. In the first issue, I shared this quote:
“LLMs turn 10x engineers into 1000x engineers, and 1x engineers into 0.1x engineers.”
— Yacine M
Read that again and replace “engineers” with “market researchers” or “insights professionals.”
That’s the future staring us in the face.
Large language models (LLMs) and AI tools are not just “useful” add-ons to your workflow. They are force multipliers unlike anything we’ve seen in knowledge work.
But here’s the kicker: They don’t lift everyone equally.
They amplify those who learn it. They quiet those who don't.
The Great Divide Has Already Begun
Right now, in every insights team, there are two types of professionals:
- Those who are integrating AI to multiply their speed, sharpen their analysis, and tell better stories.
- Those who are still opening PowerPoint to move bullet points around manually.
And the gap between them? It’s not 10x. It’s not even 100x.
It’s 1000x!
That’s not hyperbole. It’s a recognition that market research and insights has moved beyond just collecting and analyzing data.
It’s now about how fast and how insightfully you can turn messy information into something executives can act on immediately and AI is jet fuel.
Let’s Be Blunt: The Old Way Is Done
Here are a few tasks that market researchers still do today that will be automated or irrelevant in 3 years:
- Coding open-ended responses by hand
- Manually cutting and pasting survey results into slides
- Writing summaries from interview transcripts
- Spending hours cleaning data
- Rewording the same insights slide for 3 different stakeholders
If this is your day-to-day, you’re already on borrowed time.
What a 1000x Market Researcher Looks Like
The professionals who will thrive aren’t just using ChatGPT or Claude to fix grammar. They’re reimagining the job itself.
- They prompt like strategists
They know how to ask layered, iterative questions that dig deep into sentiment, behavior, and motivation. AI becomes a thinking partner, not a shortcut.
- They design insight systems
They automate the busywork, not to be lazy, but to free up cognitive space for real interpretation. Dashboards update in real time. Interviews are transcribed, themed, and summarized while they sleep.
- They move from analyst to advisor
They show up in meetings with ideas, not just data. They use AI to scenario-plan, simulate what-if situations, and test messaging variations in minutes.
- They tell stories at scale
Need a summary for the CMO? A tailored narrative for product? A short video for the board? They use AI to generate first drafts and spend their time elevating, not starting from scratch.
- They share what they learn
They’re out there doing the work … writing posts, sharing frameworks, leading internal trainings. They become internal influencers, not just internal vendors.
If You’re Not Building These Skills, You’re Falling Behind
The truth is hard, but freeing: AI will not replace you. But someone using AI will.
You don’t have to be a technical expert. You don’t have to build your own LLM. But you do have to:
- Master prompting
- Explore AI tools beyond the basics
- Automate what doesn’t need your brain
- Elevate what does
- Share your thoughts in public
This is the new baseline.
The Window to Adapt Is Closing Fast
Three years is generous. The shakeout has already started.
The market research and insights pros who are experimenting with AI today will lead tomorrow.
The ones who wait for their company to train them, or for someone to hand them a use case, will wonder why the phone stopped ringing.
You don’t need to be scared. But you do need to move!
Because the 1000x market researcher isn’t a myth.
They’re real. They’re emerging.
And they’re coming for your job.
Want to see what 1000x market research looks like in action?
Follow this blog or subscribe to my substack newsletter, I’ll be breaking down real workflows, AI tools, and insight systems that are changing the game in real time.
