Makeable Consulting Study: 8 in 10 Canadian Managers Use AI for Customer Insights

Makeable Consulting today released findings from the AI For Customer Insights 2026, a survey of 130 Canadian managers and senior professionals examining how AI is actually being used to understand customers inside Canadian organizations.

Most Business Professionals Rely on AI for Customer Understanding

The study reveals a clear shift in how Business Professionals are approaching customer understanding: 85% of them are now using AI for this purpose, while 15% have not incorporated AI into their customer understanding processes

How Much Do Organizations Trust AI?

Despite widespread adoption, trust remains measured. 44% of respondents indicated they trust AI and direct research equally, and almost 20%, mentioned to trust AI somewhat or even more than direct research methods such as interviews, surveys, and focus groups. 

Where AI Is Being Applied

That trust is reflected in how AI is being applied. The most common use cases, personalizing the customer experience, analyzing feedback, and identifying behavioral patterns, are the tasks dominating how organizations leverage AI for customer understanding

• Personalizing the customer experience (45%)
• Analyzing customer feedback (45%)
• Identifying patterns in customer behavior (41%)
• Automating customer service interactions (37%)
• Generating insights from surveys or reviews (29%)

AI is processing and summarizing data that already exists. The qualitative layer, understanding not just how many customers have a certain preference, but the reasons behind, is largely absent from these workflows.

What About the Qualitative layer?

The use cases above share a common thread: they tell organizations what customers are doing. What they don't capture is the qualitative layer, the motivations, frustrations, and reasoning behind customer behavior. 

That context still comes from direct research methods such as interviews, focus groups, and open-ended survey questions. Without it, companies are making strategic decisions without having the full picture.

Who Isn't Using AI, and Why

15% of Canadian Business Professionals surveyed indicated have not adopted AI for customer understanding. Their reasons fall into four distinct categories:

• Capability gaps: Lack of internal expertise (32%) and cost of tools (5%) point to adoption barriers, not resistance
• Privacy concerns: 32% cite data privacy as a key reason for holding back
• Deliberate choice: 16% prefer direct research methods.
• Not needed right now: 16% indicated that AI is not relevant for their business right now.

Not all holdouts look the same. The reasons behind non-adoption vary significantly. Some need enablement, some need reassurance, and some have consciously chosen a different path.

The data points to a broader opportunity for organizations navigating this shift.

"Companies are using AI to go deeper on customer understanding, and that's a positive shift. But AI alone is not enough. The organizations that will stand out are those that keep investing in direct conversations with their customers, because no algorithm can replace qualitative research." — Diana Villalobos, Founder, Makeable Consulting

Explore the Full Report Findings

• AI For Customer Insights 2026: What Canadian Managers are really doing with it

Methodology

The AI Reality Check Study surveyed 130 Canadian managers and senior professionals in June 2026. Respondents held management or senior-level roles across different industries.

About the Report
How Canadian Managers Are Really Using AI in 2026 is an original research study produced by Makeable Consulting examining AI adoption, trust, and impact among Canadian business leaders. 

The study reflects Makeable Consulting's commitment to generating data-driven insights that help organizations understand what their customers and teams are actually experiencing, beyond what dashboards and algorithms alone can reveal.