user research

Compare the same request with and without the profile, judged by people who see the profile, and test the three failures users notice: ignoring a stated preference, using a stale one and over-personalising.

AI can cluster thousands of comments in minutes, and it can also invent themes, flatten detail and overweight loud voices. The interviewer wants speed with traceability back to real quotes.

Synthetic personas are cheap and fast, and they tell you what a model thinks people might say. The interviewer wants a clear line between useful applications and evidence they cannot provide.

A person behind the curtain answers whether users want it; a real model answers whether it works. Pick by the uncertainty you need to resolve, and never fake it with paying users without telling them.