NN/G UX Podcast 55. Democratizing Research in the Age of AI (feat. Ned Dwyer, CEO & Co-founder of Great Question)
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Dec 1, 2025 Ned Dwyer, CEO and co-founder of Great Question, shares insights from his journey in building an AI-powered UX research platform. He highlights the growing interest in customer insights and the importance of balancing accessibility with research rigor. Dwyer discusses the creation of democratization charters to guide research practices, the transformative role of AI in enhancing research quality, and the potential pitfalls of unchecked AI usage. Their conversation emphasizes fostering a culture of effective research to democratize insights within organizations.
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Lone Researcher With Gift Cards
- Ned Dwyer describes struggling at GoDaddy as the lone researcher using Amazon gift cards to recruit participants.
- That experience seeded Great Question to simplify recruitment, synthesis, and running customer research at scale.
Democratization Needs Contextual Guardrails
- Democratizing research means widening access to insights while keeping appropriate guardrails.
- A one-size-fits-all approach is dangerous; policies should reflect organizational risk and context.
Write A Democratization Charter
- Create a democratization charter that states who can run which methods with which audiences.
- Use it to set required training, eligibility, and permissions rather than simply saying "no."