From Decks to Dialogue:

Bringing Data to Life with AI Avatars

by Mike Deinlein

In the research world, we’ve spent decades mastering the art of telling stories with data. We build fancy models, write reports, and deliver slides full of insights that, at best, spark a few days of conversation. But as artificial intelligence reshapes how we learn and communicate, it’s time to ask: what if our insights didn’t just speak to clients—but spoke with them?

At TMRE this year, we explored exactly that.

The Shift: From Analysis to Interaction

AI isn’t just changing how we analyze data—it’s changing how we experience it. Traditionally, insights decks and data storytelling have been one-way conversations. We show charts; we narrate trends. The audience listens.

Now imagine flipping that dynamic, letting audiences engage directly with the data itself. In our demo, we used AI-generated avatars—complete with interactive video and synthetic voices—to embody customer segments. Instead of showing a bar chart about a frequent flyer persona, we talked to one. The result? A data experience that was not only informative but more human.

Synthetic Personas, Real Conversations

Each avatar represented a psychographically distinct customer segment within the airline industry. Typically, we’d spend hours determining designing, tweaking, and fussing over slides that would capture the essence of the segment. Focusing on things like what makes them tick, what are the marketing messages that would bring them in, or what are their behaviors that we can capitalize on. But, they’re still just static slides—a one-way conversation. Conversational AI gives our clients the chance to ask the data questions in real time, shifting insights from static decks to dynamic dialogue. And when you overlay video and voice to those dialogues, it’s easier to engage stakeholders, because they can engage “customers,” or at the very least avatars of customers, and connect more empathetically to what our insights say.

This wasn’t just a technology experiment. It was a mindset shift, moving from researcher as storyteller to researcher as facilitator of understanding.

The Uncanny Valley—and the Uncanny Opportunity

Of course, giving “voice” to data means confronting some psychological boundaries. As avatars become more humanlike, audiences can experience discomfort—a phenomenon known as the Uncanny Valley. Yet our experiments showed something surprising: more realistic avatars increased perceptions of trust. When designed thoughtfully, these AI figures help audiences not only hear the data but believe it. And what’s more, the technology is will only continue to improve.

Where We Go From Here

AI is rewriting the rules of research. It’s no longer enough to present insights; we must design experiences that bring them to life. The future of market research won’t be defined by dashboards or decks—it’ll be defined by dialogue.

Mike serves as VP, CX Solutions at Burke Inc. and consults with clients on agile CX technology use, the removal of customer data silos, and the effective utilization of integrated insights to drive better customer experiences for clients.