The Truth About Predictions

To be honest, the headline above is a bit of a gamble. I don’t think anyone truly knows exactly what the qualitative landscape will look like a year from now.

Right now, the industry is a mix of credible data, persistent myths, and a heavy dose of optimism from developers looking to profit. We are also seeing no shortage of "wise men" who enjoy the authority of sounding certain about an uncertain future.

But at Loop, we aren't interested in guesses. We are interested in what we’ve actually seen on the ground in 2025 and how that reality will dictate our focus for 2026.

Efficiency Without Erasure

The biggest lesson of 2025 was that while AI can process data, it cannot "feel" a participant's hesitation or understand the cultural "why" behind a choice.

It cannot "feel" a participant's hesitation or understand the cultural "why" behind a choice.

In 2026, our focus remains squarely on humans. At Loop, we aren’t looking for tools to replace people; we are building and adopting tools that allow our researchers to focus on what they care about most: the people. Our job is to help our clients build inclusive, well-made products, and that requires a level of empathy that code cannot replicate.

Solving the "Management Gap"

While we focus on the human element, we cannot ignore the reality our clients face. We know you are getting pushback from management. The demands are clear:

• Tighter deadlines.
• Less "paperwork" (fewer long-form written reports).
• Immediate, actionable insights.

This is where the real "shaping" of 2026 happens. We are using AI to bridge this gap—automating the administrative weight of research so we can deliver those faster results without sacrificing the human depth that makes the research valuable in the first place.

The 2026 Outlook

If 2025 was the year of AI hype, 2026 will be the year of AI utility. We are moving past the noise to find the tools that make us better, faster, and more inclusive, while keeping the human experience at the center of everything we do.