Three decades of research rigor. Now AI-first. Your partner from brief to boardroom.
You know your insights function needs to evolve. You may be experimenting with tools, but how do you really integrate AI for maximum benefit?
The market is flooded with research vendors waving "AI-powered" flags, but no one is offering a real roadmap for how to internalize AI into the day-to-day work of your insights program. So your team stalls. Or they experiment in isolation: a tool here, a pilot there, running AI side-by-side with traditional methods without ever truly integrating.
What's missing isn't another tool. It's a trusted partner who's already made the journey, who understands research methodology deeply enough to know where AI genuinely helps, and who can meet you wherever you are: doing the work for you, giving your team AI-powered support, or helping you integrate AI seamlessly throughout the insights function.
Everyone claims "AI-powered" but no one shows you how to actually embed AI into your daily workflows.
A tool here, a pilot there, but nothing that connects into how your team actually works day-to-day.
Running AI next to traditional methods without making progress. Doubling work instead of halving it.
Your executives want an AI strategy for insights. Your team needs a partner who's already figured it out.
Whether you want us to conduct studies for you, give your team an AI-powered toolkit, or help your whole team become AI-first, we've got you.
Full-service consumer insights from brief to boardroom: qualitative, quantitative, desktop research, and everything in between. AI-enhanced at every step, guided by human researchers who are expert in both research methods and AI.
Explore services →AI agents built by researchers, for researchers. Support for every stage of the research workflow, from writing briefs and questionnaires to analyzing data and building presentations. Run our agents on your own platform, on your own terms, keeping your data private.
Explore AI agents →Implementation consulting and a peer community of practitioners, for insights and marketing teams ready to make AI part of how they work, not just something they experiment with.
Learn more →Founded in 1998, Michele DeKinder-Smith built Linkage Research to deliver world-class, right-sized insights to companies of all sizes, from emerging private equity-backed brands to Fortune 500 leaders.
Linkage is classically trained in both qualitative and quantitative rigor. The firm is known for its ability to get beneath the surface and uncover what consumers really think, feel, and do. The team has deep expertise spanning innovation (trend identification, concept development, package testing), positioning, segmentation, brand tracking, and shopper insights.
When AI emerged as a transformative force, Linkage didn't watch from the sidelines. Michele immersed herself in the technology, trained her team, and began building AI directly into the research workflow. Not as a novelty, but as a force multiplier for the methodologies they'd already perfected.
Today, Linkage operates at the intersection of deep research expertise and modern AI capability. We use our custom-built agents every day in real projects, and we offer our Agent Suite and training so you can too.
Lean by design. Senior attention on every engagement.
AI doesn't replace the human judgment that comes from thousands of consumer conversations. It frees that judgment up to focus where it matters most.
Every AI agent and recommendation comes from real experience running real research. We don't just talk about AI in insights. We live it.
Decades of moving brands from trend signal to tested concept, a capability that translates powerfully into the AI era.
Real-world perspectives on AI in consumer research, delivered to your inbox. No spam, just substance.
However you work today, we can help you work smarter. Start with what feels right.