It may seem counterintuitive, but artificial intelligence is revolutionizing creativity by making it more human-centric. Chad Reynolds, CEO of Vurvey, believes AI is not just a tool for efficiency, but a catalyst for inclusivity and diversity in the creative process.
Traditionally, brands relied on limited focus groups and impersonal quantitative surveys, missing out on the rich tapestry of human experiences. “We were missing the human and their story in the products we were all launching,” says Reynolds. Vurvey saw an opportunity to bridge this gap by leveraging AI to empower a wider range of voices.
Vurvey’s video survey platform captures both qualitative and quantitative data, allowing for a deeper understanding of consumer needs and desires. AI then steps in to analyze this data, uncovering hidden insights and trends at a speed unimaginable with traditional methods. This accelerates every stage of the creative process, from concept testing to product development and iteration.
“I can use AI to help me visualize my ideas in a completely new way,” Reynolds explains. AI not only identifies valuable insights but also translates them into actionable visualizations, overcoming creative limitations and enabling collaborative workflows. This allows brands to co-create with consumers and creators at scale, fostering a sense of shared ownership and community.
Vurvey’s 4D process – Discover, Design, Develop, Deliver – underpins this approach. It starts with understanding the challenges and aspirations of both businesses and consumers. AI then drives the design process, generating diverse solutions that are rapidly shared with consumers for feedback and iteration.This collaborative ecosystem, powered by video and AI, allows brands to build products that resonate deeply with consumers, fostering loyalty and community even before launch. AI tools accelerate feedback loops from months to hours, providing a crucial speed advantage in today’s dynamic market.
Reynolds cites a compelling example: a CPG company leveraging Vurvey to develop a skincare line specifically for women of color. By collaborating with a diverse community of beauty experts, the brand ensured the product resonated authentically with its target audience, from branding and packaging to product strategy.” We really took to heart this whole idea of building a community before you build a product,” Reynolds emphasizes. “If we can create with as many people as possible in that process, you are actually building a community around the product. They feel ownership in it.
“Vurvey’s latest innovation, vTeam, takes this collaborative approach further. This suite of AI agents, datasets, and workflows automates consumer research, ideation, and feedback, drastically reducing product launch timelines. Users collaborate with virtual AI assistants and customer personas, each capable of generating visuals, trends, and insights based on Vurvey’s video surveys and brand-specific data.”It’s a way to collaborate with consumers and team members within your company, and in a very fast way to go from insights to ideas to innovation,” Reynolds explains.
Importantly, Reynolds emphasizes that AI is not replacing humans in the creative process, but rather freeing them from tedious tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-level thinking and innovation. This “people-powered AI” goes beyond mere information processing, connecting brands directly with consumers for a truly collaborative and iterative creative journey.
“Our belief is that the new frontier is to build AI powered by people,” Reynolds concludes. “Give me the tools that help me create net new ideas in the world, but also are directly connected to the consumer world, where I can iterate. There’s always humans in the loop because we are the loop.”
