AI becomes baseline, judgment becomes the edge
If you’re turning to AI regularly to support your research studies, you’re in good company. For the majority of teams, AI has crossed from experimental to essential.
Two in three participants (69%) report using AI in at least some of their research projects—a 19% increase from last year—handling everything from transcription to synthesis to generating research questions.
That shift is driven by what AI does best: handling repetitive, time-consuming tasks that once consumed researchers’ days.
But speed alone isn't the advantage.
Before AI, you may have found yourself drifting into administrative tasks: managing tools, wrangling transcripts, stitching together outputs under tight timelines. All necessary work, but not the reason you entered the field. AI is swinging the pendulum back.
When participants were asked where human judgment remains essential, the answer was clear. AI can surface patterns and summarize interviews. It can't pick up on hesitation, read between the lines, or decide which insight matters most for the business—and why.
Leading teams aren't choosing between humans and automation. They're rethinking the division of labor—handing off the repetitive execution work to AI and focusing their own energy on what only a human can do: frame sharper questions, interpret nuance in context, and stand confidently behind a recommendation.
In 2026, automation is a baseline expectation. Human judgment is the differentiator.
Human review is not a bottleneck; it's a necessary part of the process for user researchers to make knowledgeable recommendations.
The most immediate application for AI has been replacing the repeatable parts of research execution. But we've always known that just executing research has never been enough to be a successful researcher.
Research influence enters the boardroom
The number of organizations where research is essential to all levels of business strategy nearly tripled in a single year—from 8% in 2025 to 22% in 2026.
This highlights a structural change in how organizations operate. Instead of using research to validate decisions, it’s being used as a compass. Research teams are pulled earlier into conversations to inform bigger decisions and longer-term strategy.
As part of the evolution of research, your role is also changing from insight producer to business partner. Your time used to be spent setting up the study, conducting interviews, and combing through data. Now that AI handles more of the operational lift, your role is becoming sharper, not smaller.
Over a third (35%) of participants believe the role of the researcher is becoming more strategic, while (33%) believe the role is becoming more blended.
Rather than waiting for research requests, today's researchers are proactive partners who connect findings to revenue implications, navigate the space between UX and market strategy, and influence decisions before they're made.
Your value isn't in running more studies. It's in ensuring the right studies happen at the right time—and that insights translate into measurable business impact.
In this era of AI-augmented research, alongside developing AI fluency, I see value in focusing on where researchers have an edge: our ability to make sense of complex, nuanced data in context; to build rapport and trust with users to deeply understand their needs; and to navigate the very real tradeoffs that shape product decisions.
Pressure builds as demand outpaces enablement
If you’re feeling the heat to conduct more studies, deliver results faster, and be the organization’s voice of reason, you’re not alone.
The appetite for insight is growing, but the infrastructure hasn’t kept up with the demand. You’re expected to move faster, get it right the first time, and demonstrate impact—often with the same headcount, tools, and time constraints.
The demand for research hasn't just increased—it's spread horizontally. More non-researchers are running studies, and you've probably felt the ripple effects.
Product Managers (39%), Market Researchers (35%), and Marketers (23%) are all conducting research. While access is growing, infrastructure hasn’t kept up. Without the shared guardrails in place, more research creates noise instead of clarity.
61% of organizations provide access to tools and templates, but fewer than half offer dedicated support from specialized researchers (45%), structured training (46%), or research libraries (49%). 13% report having no resources at all to support non-researchers.
The organizations navigating enablement well don't treat it as a one-time rollout. They set minimum standards so anyone running research knows what "good" looks like, and they build systems that make insight repeatable, not reactive.
Enablement isn't a couple of lunch-and-learns on ‘how to use our research tool’ or ‘how to run interviews.’ It's teaching people the thinking behind good research.
By trusting stakeholders to drive their own research and coaching them to improve incrementally, we create an environment where quality standards can be met within the organization's context while empowering teams to move faster.”
The Future of User Research 2026 survey was created using Maze and distributed between December 23, 2025 and January 13, 2026. Maze collected nearly 500 responses across roles including UX/Product Researchers (44%), UX/UI/Product Designers (26%), and Marketers (9%). Respondents spanned organizations of all sizes, with strong representation from both Europe (34%) and North America (31%).
Maze donated $2 for every completed survey to the Raspberry Pi Foundation—$1,000 in total—in support of their mission to empower young people through computing and digital technology.
Maze empowers researchers to be change makers, turning customer insights into enduring competitive advantage. By bringing recruiting, testing, and analysis together, Maze helps organizations move from intuition to evidence, faster. From researchers to designers and PMs, anyone can run studies that answer any question and drive better decisions. Equipped with Maze’s research-grade AI, teams can focus on what matters most: understanding people, uncovering insights, and shaping change with confidence.