SmartFocus.ai Enables Everyone to Run AI-Powered Focus Groups, On Demand and In Minutes

Professional-Grade Market Research No Longer Requires a $20,000 Budget

Most organizations don’t lack ideas. They lack a practical way to test them before moving forward. SmartFocus.ai announced the launch of its AI-powered virtual focus group platform, enabling organizations to evaluate and pressure-test ideas before committing significant time, money, and resources. What once required weeks of planning and research budgets often exceeding $20,000 can now be accomplished in minutes, with sessions starting at $99.

Each session produces a structured insights report with clear findings and recommendations, helping users make decisions with greater confidence. What was once practical only for organizations with dedicated research budgets is now accessible to teams of all sizes.

SmartFocus.ai also allows users to revisit focus groups after the initial session, transforming what has traditionally been a one-time research exercise into an ongoing strategic resource. Users can return at any time to ask follow-up questions and test revised concepts as their needs evolve.

SmartFocus.ai wasn’t created by a research firm or a software company. It was built by communications professionals who repeatedly faced the same challenge: important decisions often had to be made before there was enough time, budget, or justification for traditional research.

Co-founders Erik Deutsch and Stefan Pollack built SmartFocus.ai to make qualitative insights available earlier in the decision-making process, when they can have the greatest impact.

“We built SmartFocus.ai to close the gap between having a great idea and knowing if it will actually work,” said Erik Deutsch, co-founder of SmartFocus.ai. “Everyone has ideas, but too few get tested before they’re put into action. For most organizations, focus groups have been something only other people could afford. SmartFocus.ai puts that capability within reach.”

“I’ve been in communications for decades, and I can’t count the number of times a client had to make a consequential decision, a product name, a campaign, a crisis response, with nothing but gut instinct and internal consensus to go on. Not because they didn’t want better information, but because the alternative cost $20,000 and took three weeks. SmartFocus exists because that tradeoff was never acceptable to us, and we finally had the tools to eliminate it,” said Stefan Pollack, co-founder of SmartFocus.ai. “SmartFocus.ai is the difference between taking an educated guess and actually knowing.”

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How It Works

SmartFocus.ai uses artificial intelligence to replicate the experience of a professional focus group. Users simply describe what they want to evaluate, whether it’s a marketing campaign, product concept, strategic initiative, executive message, subject-matter question, or any other important decision.

The platform creates a custom virtual focus group with tailored, scenario-aware personas that represent audience members or subject-matter experts. An intelligent moderator then leads a real-time discussion, asking questions, probing for insights, and facilitating interaction among participants, much like a traditional focus group.

The personas are knowledgeable about current events, cultural trends, and the broader context in which decisions are made. This enables discussions to surface insights that reflect how real audiences actually think and react. Users can observe the session and ask follow-up questions, or sit back and allow the moderator to conduct the discussion independently.

At the end of each session, SmartFocus.ai generates a structured report with actionable insights, recommendations, and key takeaways. The report helps users understand not only what the personas revealed, but also what drove those responses.