Buyer’s guide

Synthetic versus real, vendor versus vendor, what to ask before you buy, and the questions that separate a research instrument from a chat toy.

Pillar

Synthetic users vs real users: what each is for, honestly

Synthetic users are fast and cheap; real users are the ground truth. A comparison by question type, with the evidence on where simulated answers track people.

23 Sept 2026 · 7 min
Buyer’s guide

Fifteen questions to ask a synthetic research vendor, with the answers to listen for

The questions that separate a research instrument from a chat with a system prompt: source material, grounding, traces, refusal, validation and data handling.

23 Sept 2026 · 8 min

Private beta · by application

Bring one real research question.

Access opens by application. Tell us the question you are trying to answer and who has to be convinced by the result.

Apply for accessAll research notes

A rehearsal, not a replacement, for talking to real customers. Stated in the product and in the terms. Every exported report ends with the line that personas are AI simulations, not real customers.