Insights Unlocked

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4fsY5jb

Episode summary

What does it really mean for UX research to have "a seat at the table"? According to Paul Humphrey, head of UX Research Practice at Next, it has less to do with presenting to executives and more to do with helping the people making product decisions achieve measurable business outcomes.

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, host Amrit Bhachu sits down with Paul to discuss how he transformed UX research at Next from a reactive support function into a strategic driver of product and e-commerce decisions. Paul shares how empowering designers to conduct their own research, aligning studies with business metrics, and building relationships with stakeholders helped the team dramatically increase research adoption while demonstrating clear business impact.

The conversation explores what it takes to prove the value of UX research, including a case study that contributed to reducing call center training and handling times, resulting in an estimated £2.75 million in savings. Paul also explains why researchers need to speak the language of the business—not just the language of usability—and why understanding stakeholder goals is often more important than delivering another research report.

Finally, Paul and Amrit discuss the growing role of AI in UX research. Paul shares how Next is using AI to accelerate workflows while maintaining rigorous validation and quality standards, why researchers should embrace experimentation, and how curiosity remains the most valuable skill in an AI-powered future.

You'll learn:

Resources & links

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4fjSOKR

Episode summary:

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Mike Mace chats with Chase Keaten, senior research manager at Walmart, about the tension shaping how researchers, designers, and builders are learning to work with AI. Chase shares why he thinks the sharpest divide in tech right now isn't about tools—it's about two competing mindsets: an "always push forward" view of AI and a more cautious, human-centered one. He explains why holding both views at once, rather than picking a side, tends to lead to better decisions.

The conversation also digs into the much-hyped "builder model," where one person plus a stack of AI agents is expected to replace a whole product team. Chase makes the case for why healthy conflict between humans—not simulated conflict from AI—is often what actually makes products better. He and Mike also explore why trust, not usability, may be the real currency of agentic AI, and Chase closes with practical advice for researchers and designers under pressure to "do something with AI" right now.

You'll learn:

Resources & links

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4fvszkT

Episode summary:

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Nathan Isaacs sits down with three UserTesting voices—Lija Hogan, Amrit Bhachu, and Mike Mace—for a roundtable on the conversations they're hearing most often from enterprise leaders in the back half of 2026. Drawing on months of customer calls and industry events, the group unpacks where AI is actually changing how teams work, where the hype has gotten ahead of reality, and why human judgment keeps showing up as the differentiator no matter how capable the models get.

The conversation moves from the "next bottleneck" debate—is it code, is it customers?—to the growing skills gap facing junior researchers and designers, the fading subsidies behind "token maxing," and why AI in the loop, not human in the loop, might be the better way to think about accountability. They also dig into agentic AI and the emerging question of whether customers will engage brands directly or through their own AI "info butler," why testing the personality and relationship of an AI product matters as much as testing its accuracy, and what leaders should actually prioritize as they head into 2027.

You'll learn:

Resources & links

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4vcJe2e

Episode summary:

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Nathan Isaacs sits down with Matt Howland, president and chief product/engineering officer at Cordial and chair of the working group behind the Shopper Context Protocol (SCP), to unpack what's really at stake as AI agents start shopping on our behalf.

Drawing on his years on both the vendor and retailer sides of martech, Matt explains why SCP was created to keep brands from being cut out of the customer relationship as agent commerce protocols like ACP and UCP take hold.

Matt walks through why "context-less transactions" are a problem for both shoppers and brands, why he believes standards like SCP need to preserve loyalty and intent rather than flatten every purchase into a generic transaction, and why he's optimistic that customer behavior—not platform incentives—will ultimately steer where these protocols land. The conversation also covers what Cordial is building as a customer context engine for brands like Levi's and Abercrombie, and closes with practical advice for leaders who want to start experimenting with AI internally before standards like SCP fully take shape.

You'll learn:

What the Shopper Context Protocol is and why Matt's working group built it

Why "context-less transactions" break the shopping experience for both brands and customers

How SCP relates to competing agent commerce protocols like ACP and UCP

What's at risk for retailers and loyalty programs if they don't engage with emerging standards

How Cordial uses AI to turn unstructured customer data into a "fiber uplink" of intent

One practical step leaders can take today to prepare their organizations for agentic commerce

Resources & links

Matt Howland on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mhowland/)

Cordial (https://cordial.com/)

Shopper Context Protocol website (https://shoppercontextprotocol.io/)

Nathan Isaacs on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanisaacs/)

Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast

Episode summary:

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Nathan Isaacs sits down with Robyn Bolton, founder of Mile Zero and author of Unlocking Innovation: A Leader's Guide to Turning Bold Ideas into Tangible Results, to explore why innovation fails so often inside successful companies—and what leaders can do about it. Drawing on her experience at P&G, BCG, and Innosight (Clayton Christensen's firm), Robyn shares the frameworks, mindset shifts, and leadership behaviors that separate real innovation from the illusion of it.

Robyn makes the case that innovation isn't an idea problem—it's a leadership problem. She dives into how to set the right conditions before any brainstorming begins, why "innovation theater" breeds cynicism rather than creativity, and how customer insights are the most underutilized asset in most organizations. She also weighs in on AI: what separates the companies genuinely benefiting from it versus those just chasing the next shiny object.

You'll learn:

Why innovation is a leadership problem, not an idea problem

How to define a "growth gap" before you ever go to the whiteboard

What "innovation theater" looks like and why it backfires

Why customer insights are everyone's job—not just the research team's

How to build a culture of innovation (and why it takes years, not events)

What separates companies getting real value from AI from those just experimenting

A practical "George Costanza" leadership habit you can try this week

Innovation starts with leadership, not ideas

Robyn Bolton has spent her career helping large, successful companies do something that doesn't come naturally to them: innovate. From launching Swiffer at P&G to working with companies like Medtronic, Nike, and Sanofi, she's seen firsthand what makes innovation work—and what kills it.

Her core argument is simple but counterintuitive: innovation doesn't fail because companies run out of ideas. It fails because leaders don't create the conditions for those ideas to survive. Culture, she says, is "the perception of what matters, as evidenced by the actions of executives." If you want a culture of innovation, you have to invest in it consistently for years—not just run an annual hackathon and hope for the best.

Customer insights are everyone's job

Few topics generate more conviction from Robyn than customer insights. She believes deeply that understanding customers—not just gathering data about them—is a responsibility that belongs to everyone in an organization, including executives.

Her prescription is simple: get out of the office, be present with customers in their actual environment, and have the humility to listen rather than explain. Too many "insight sessions" turn into selling sessions, she notes. Real discovery means asking open-ended questions and resisting the urge to justify why the product works the way it does.

She shared a vivid example: while working with a medical device company, she and the president of the business unit watched video footage of patients using their products. Within ten minutes, R&D team members were shouting at the screen—convinced the patients were doing it wrong. "They're not wrong," Robyn said. "They're teaching us."

Resources & links

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4uBmCIp

Episode summary:

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, host Amrit Bhachu sits down with Meltem Naz Kaso—UX career coach, former UX research leader, and educator—to explore what it takes to build a resilient and meaningful career in an era of rapid technological change.

Drawing on her background in UX research, psychology, journalism, and coaching, Mel shares why trust, adaptability, and entrepreneurial thinking are becoming more valuable than technical expertise alone. She discusses the growing uncertainty many researchers and product professionals are facing as AI reshapes the workplace and explains why the future belongs to those who can connect customer understanding with business outcomes.

Mel and Amrit dive into the evolving role of UX research, the importance of influencing without authority, and why researchers must move beyond advocacy alone to become translators between customer needs and organizational goals. They also discuss how building trust, developing business acumen, and taking proactive ownership can help professionals create lasting impact regardless of their title or discipline.

The conversation offers practical advice for both experienced practitioners and those early in their careers, highlighting the human skills that remain essential in a world increasingly shaped by AI.

You’ll learn:

● Why trust is becoming one of the most valuable professional assets in the age of AI

● How UX researchers can strengthen their influence by understanding business goals

● What separates thriving researchers from those who feel stuck or overlooked

● Why entrepreneurial thinking and proactive ownership are critical career skills

● How to build stronger relationships with stakeholders and influence decisions without authority

● The role of storytelling, empathy, and business translation in driving organizational impact

● Why early-career professionals should focus on curiosity, trust-building, and adaptability

● How to identify and communicate the unique value you bring to your organization

Resources & links

● Mel Naz Kaso on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meltem-naz/

● Career with Mel: https://careerwithmel.com

● Amrit Bhachu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amritbhachu/

● Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/4v2S1Vf

Episode summary:

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, host Mike Mace sits down with product operations and AI strategy leader Katie Robblee to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the product development lifecycle (PDLC)—and why many organizations are approaching it the wrong way.

Katie shares lessons from her work helping companies build AI-powered products and agents, revealing how the rapid adoption of AI has exposed gaps in organizational processes, product team responsibilities, and decision-making frameworks. While AI dramatically lowers the barriers to building software, she argues that organizations risk creating more noise than value if they focus on building faster instead of understanding what customers actually need.

The conversation dives into the rise of AI agents, the importance of human-in-the-loop evaluation systems, and why discovery and customer research are becoming even more critical in an AI-enabled world. Katie also explains why everyone—from product managers to executives—should experiment with building AI agents to better understand both the opportunities and risks of this emerging technology.

You'll learn:

Why building faster with AI doesn't automatically create better products

How AI agents differ from traditional large language models

The risks of deploying AI without governance, training, and clear ownership

Why customer discovery becomes more important—not less—in the age of AI

How human-in-the-loop evaluations help improve AI outputs and decision-making

The emerging challenge of training future product leaders when AI handles more tactical work

Why every professional should experiment with building an AI agent

Practical advice for getting started with AI agent development, even without technical experience

Resources & links

Katie Robblee on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/katierobblee/)

Mike Mace on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemace/)

Nathan Isaacs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanisaacs/

Learn more about Insights Unlocked: https://www.usertesting.com/podcast

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/3QpApnq

Episode summary:

In this special recap episode of Insights Unlocked, host Nathan Isaacs shares key insights and standout moments from Crafted Seattle, UserTesting's annual event for product leaders, designers, researchers, and customer experience professionals.

As AI dramatically accelerates the speed of product creation, speakers across the event explored a critical question: if anyone can build almost anything, what becomes the true competitive advantage? The answer, according to leaders from UserTesting, Cisco, McDonald's, and other leading organizations, is a deeper understanding of people.

Featuring perspectives from Eric Johnson, Baran Erkel, Travis Isaacs, Jessa Parette, Jason Giles, Eliel Johnson, Brad Carrera, Nikkia Reveillac, Jennifer Aaker, and others, this episode examines how AI is reshaping the roles of researchers, designers, and product teams. From maintaining human judgment in an automated world to creating alignment through customer understanding, the conversation highlights why empathy, curiosity, storytelling, and human connection remain essential as technology evolves.

The episode also explores how researchers can expand their influence, why asking better questions matters more than having more data, and how organizations can use AI to amplify human creativity rather than replace it.

You'll learn:

Resources & links

Episode web page:

Episode summary:

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Nathan Isaacs sits down with Bansi Mehta, founder and CEO of Koru UX, to explore how product and UX teams can design more thoughtful, trustworthy AI experiences using her Sense, Shape, Steer framework.

As organizations race to incorporate AI into products and workflows, Bansi explains why many teams fall into the trap of starting with the technology instead of the user problem. She shares practical guidance for slowing down, identifying meaningful AI opportunities, and balancing automation with human oversight—especially in complex enterprise and healthcare environments.

Bansi walks through each phase of the framework, from understanding user needs and AI constraints in the “Sense” phase, to prototyping AI behaviors in “Shape,” to continuously evaluating trust, usefulness, and adoption in “Steer.” Along the way, she discusses why transparency alone doesn’t guarantee trust, how AI products require ongoing tuning after launch, and why successful AI experiences depend as much on psychology and workflow design as they do on model accuracy.

The conversation also explores the challenges product teams face under pressure to “add AI,” the risks of feature creep, and why teams should treat AI implementation as an evolving feedback loop rather than a one-time release.

You'll learn:

Resources and links:

Episode web page: https://bit.ly/42TFjM4

In this episode of Insights Unlocked, Manú Bartlett speaks with Pedro Hernandez, advocacy manager for EMEA and Latin America at Figma, about how AI is reshaping design, leadership, and the future of creative work. Drawing from more than 15 years of experience across UX, product design, and design operations, Pedro shares why the industry is moving beyond a narrow focus on speed and toward a deeper balance between experimentation, craft, and human-centered thinking.

Pedro explores how design communities across Europe and Latin America are adapting to AI in different ways, why leaders must rethink how they evaluate design work in the age of rapid prototyping, and how “craft” now means being intentional, critical, and thoughtful when collaborating with AI tools. He also discusses the growing importance of soft skills, curiosity, and research as teams become more multidisciplinary again.

The conversation also dives into how leaders can stay connected to customer needs while navigating AI-driven workflows, why experimentation matters at every level of an organization, and how Figma is researching what design leaders truly need from modern collaboration tools.

You’ll learn:

Resources & links