ICG Member Jay Zaltzman will reprise this presentation first given at Esomar Congress 2026 in September .
AI can already capture, summarize, and organize the voice of the customer at unprecedented speed and scale. As these capabilities become more widely available, qualitative researchers have an opportunity to place even greater emphasis on one of the field’s longstanding strengths: interpreting what people’s choices mean and helping organizations decide what to do with that understanding.
This session presents a practical tensions-based framework for moving beyond themes and stated needs to identify the contradictions, competing motivations, and cultural forces shaping behavior. Two anonymized client examples – one from a global B2B brand-strategy engagement and another from a luxury-vehicle study – will demonstrate how reframing findings as tensions can produce deeper insight and sharper strategic choices.
After the presentation, Jay will lead a discussion about how attendees could apply the framework, as well as how we can demonstrate our value to clients in the AI era.
Jay Zaltzman:
Jay Zaltzman is a qualitative researcher, strategic consultant, and past president of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association. As President of Bureau West, he helps organizations interpret customer behavior, uncover the forces shaping choice, and turn qualitative insight into better strategic decisions. He is based in the U.S. in Palm Springs, California.