October 9, 2025
The conversation around artificial intelligence (AI) often gravitates toward what technology can do rather than what’s valuable. Too often, companies chase AI-driven efficiency or novelty without asking the harder question: how can AI, combined with human expertise, drive better decisions and outcomes? That’s the space where we guide our clients.
Escalent Group (Escalent, C Space and Hall & Partners) has long been recognized as an industry leader in market research and data analytics. What sets us apart is not just that we collect and analyze data, but that we understand the industries our clients operate in better than anyone else. That deep expertise allows us to translate insights into strategic advice that fuels business growth.
Now, we’re amplifying that foundation by combining it with advanced technology, including AI, in responsible and effective ways. Others may lean on technology without understanding its implications—or overlook key nuances because they lack industry knowledge. Our role is to connect AI’s potential with the challenges and opportunities our clients face, helping ensure it delivers value, not just speed, while leaving us more room for prescriptive guidance.
Human-Guided AI in Action: Leveraging Behavioral Science and AI for Deeper Insights
One example of this approach is BeSci x AI, our proprietary model that blends behavioral science, AI and human expertise to classify likelihood to effect change with 98% accuracy.
Designed to help businesses with behavior change challenges, BeSci x AI is a custom, AI-powered classification assistant that analyzes six dimensions of behavior—compared to other solutions that only analyze two dimensions. The four additional dimensions—psychological capability, physical capability, environmental opportunity and social opportunity—have been proven critical to inspiring behavioral change.
But technology alone isn’t the answer. Our Human-Guided AI philosophy ensures that every AI-driven output is enhanced and validated by an expert with deep industry knowledge. The result? Behavior change strategies that are not only smarter and faster but also aligned with the realities of our clients’ industries. BeSci x AI also allows us to democratize and scale behavioral science thinking, delivering deeper, more consistent insights—even under quick-turn deadlines.
Equipping Our People to Be AI Advisors: Building AI Literacy Focused on Research Excellence
To make this possible, we’ve invested heavily in ensuring our people are not just industry experts but also fluent in AI technologies and their applications in market research. We developed a rigorous internal AI certification curriculum so that every team member—from top to bottom—has a strong grasp of AI principles and practical applications. By engaging with AI through the lens of ethics, governance and responsible use, we started building a collective mindset: one where innovation and accountability go hand in hand. This foundation enables us to offer comprehensive AI strategy consulting, helping clients design tailored AI roadmaps that align with their business goals and responsible AI practices.
The result is a workforce fluent in both the science of AI and the art of applying it in business. This means our clients can trust us not only as advisors on their industries and research, but also on how to responsibly and effectively harness AI to achieve business impact.
The Future of Trusted AI Research and Advisory: Driving AI-Powered Business Transformation
As our teams grew more fluent with AI, clients saw the difference and leaned in. They began inviting us to help drive AI-powered internal transformations and reimagine their toughest business and industry challenges. To meet the demand, we have developed practical AI tools, launched our AI Diagnostic framework, a recurring longitudinal study engaging consumer audiences about their attitudes toward AI, shared thought leadership and hosted client roundtables focused on AI applications in market research. Creating these collaborative spaces where clients and Escalent Group explore the future of AI together has been one of the most unexpected—and rewarding—outcomes of our journey to take our tech-enabled advisory skills to the next level.
Being a trusted advisor today means more than knowing industries or knowing technology. It means bringing the two together to deliver solutions that are strategic, scalable and sustainable. With our combination of deep industry expertise, responsible AI application and a team trained to advise with confidence, we help our clients see what others miss—and turn insights into growth.
So, how can organizations confidently navigate the complex journey from AI exploration to responsible adoption?
I recently shared practical answers to this question at Ignite: AI on October 21 in Los Angeles, focused on how to build operational readiness, embed ethical AI practices and develop strategies that drive real business results. We’ll be publishing a recap of event learnings soon, so stay tuned!
Want to learn more? Let’s connect.
Abhinav Kothari
Chief Information & Technology Officer
Abhinav Kothari is Chief Information & Technology Officer. He's a seasoned technologist driven by a deep passion for leveraging technology to augment human capabilities and known for his collaborative approach to delivering software solutions that add significant value to end-users. His expertise in automation and artificial intelligence, including intelligent automation and actionable intelligence, is pivotal in advancing Escalent’s digital transformation initiatives. Before joining Escalent, Kothari was the Chief Technology Officer at Vivvix. In this advertising intelligence company, he introduced a state-of-the-art technology stack and led the creation of a data office to enhance data transparency and accessibility. Prior to Vivvix, he served as vice president of engineering at MRI-Simmons, where he integrated platforms and spearheaded digital conversions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kothari earned a degree in computer science engineering from University of Pune, India.
