Consumer research × Artificial intelligence
Synthetic respondents and digital customer twins promise market research in minutes. I study when their answers hold up and when you still need real people. As co-founder and co-CEO of experial, I bring this research into practice.
Research areas
My work connects consumer psychology with methods from AI research. It always comes back to the same question: how do people make decisions, and how well can we measure, predict or simulate them?
Synthetic respondents
I systematically compare answers from language models with those of real people, in my own experiments and surveys. The result is clear guidance: where synthetic data is good enough, where it misses, and how hybrid designs combine both.
Learn moreAI in marketing and brand management
Language models describe brands, write ads and increasingly shop on our behalf. I study how brand management changes when customers encounter brands through AI assistants and agents.
Learn moreHappiness and consumption
In my dissertation and in follow-up projects with Bernd Schmitt (Columbia Business School), I study how happiness and the search for meaning shape consumer behavior, such as openness to new products and experiences.
Learn moreResearch and practice
Good research answers the questions companies actually ask. Good practice tests whether a method delivers what it promises. I have worked in academia since 2016 and as a founder since 2020.
Keynotes and workshops
I speak about AI in market research, digital customer twins and the future of customer insight. Backed by research findings, examples from real projects and clear rules for practice.
Selected publications
Journal articles and papers at international conferences such as EMAC, ICORIA and the American Academy of Advertising. All publications
The effects of letter capitalization in advertising headlinesKlinke, Christ, Fadl, Lamerz & Langner · Journal of Marketing Communications, 32(4), 391–413
JournalBroadening our horizons: How pursuing meaning in life encourages exploratory consumptionKlinke, Langner, Prior & Schmitt · 54th EMAC Annual Conference, Madrid
ConferenceDigital participants in advertising researchWith Steffen Prior, Nader Fadl & Tobias Langner · ICORIA, Rotterdam
Best Student Paper AwardAdvertising happiness: How happiness appeals affect consumer choicesLangner, Schmitt & Klinke · Annual Conference of the American Academy of Advertising, Portland
ConferenceAwards
For research, entrepreneurship and work on stage.
Contact
For keynotes, workshops, research collaborations, or a conversation about what AI can do for your customer research.