Zappi launches Synthetic Idea Pre-Screener to Bring Consumer Evidence into the Earliest Stage of Innovation

New solution uses synthetic respondents to directionally prioritize up to 300 early-stage product ideas before brands invest in deeper human research

BOSTON, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Zappi, the connected insights platform for brands, today announced the release of its Synthetic Idea Pre-Screener, a new solution that leverages synthetic respondents to add a consumer-informed signal to the early prioritization stage of product innovation. Built within Zappi's award-winning innovation system, the pre-screener helps teams prioritize high-potential ideas before committing time and budget to deeper research and development. Teams can evaluate up to 300 early product ideas or concepts and receive relative rankings, distinctiveness signals, and positive and negative themes in minutes.

51% of brands say their insights are too weak to support bold creativity. One challenge is that consumer research has traditionally come late in the innovation process, once ideas have progressed far enough to justify investment in traditional testing. Without early consumer feedback, teams often rely on internal judgment, familiarity and stakeholder support to make that first cut. The Synthetic Pre-Screener brings consumer evidence into this prioritization stage, with an out-of-the-box solution to help teams narrow larger pools of ideas and identify which should move into deeper human research and development.

"Consumer research wasn't built to screen every early idea. The time and cost make it impractical to test them all, leaving creative teams underserved and often reliant on gut feel, assumptions or internal hierarchies to make prioritization decisions that should be informed by consumers," said Steve Phillips, founder, Chair and Chief Innovation Officer of Zappi. "We created the Synthetic Idea Pre-Screener to bridge that gap, embedding access to directional consumer feedback across a broad range of ideas. This gives teams the evidence to make better decisions about which to prioritize, which to shelve and which warrant deeper investment."

The Synthetic Idea Pre-Screener combines synthetic respondents grounded in real demographic and behavioral profiles with Zappi's expertise in respondent data patterns. Validated against hundreds of live-human research surveys across dozens of categories and industry-leading methodologies, 88% of concepts ranked in the top 30% by the Pre-Screener also performed high or medium in human research, helping teams confidently narrow large pools of ideas before investing in deeper research.

The Synthetic Idea Pre-Screener is now available in beta to eligible Zappi customers in the U.S. and U.K. across FMCG and QSR categories, with general availability planned for later this year. To learn more, visit https://www.zappi.io/web/synthetic-idea-pre-screener.

ABOUT ZAPPI

Zappi is a leading consumer insights platform that helps brands win with consumers. Through AI-powered software that delivers connected insights, Zappi enables teams to make faster, smarter, consumer-driven decisions by leveraging real-time, continuous feedback.

Trusted by more than 350 brands worldwide, Zappi helps create successful products, develop impactful ads, and build winning brands by keeping the voice of the consumer at the heart of every decision. Winner of a Gold Stevie® Award at the American Business Awards in 2026 in the Best New Product: Data Tools & Platforms category for our AI-powered Innovation System, named the Best Marketing Insights Platform by the MarTech Breakthrough Awards in both 2023 and 2024, recognised by Business Insider as one of the hottest martech companies, and winner of the MRS Best Technology Innovation Award 2025, Zappi is redefining how modern teams use insights to drive growth.

As a certified B-Corp, Zappi is committed to net-zero emissions, fostering an equitable workplace, and using technology to benefit the communities the company serves. With more than 300 employees across 13+ countries and offices in Boston, London, and Cape Town, Zappi's culture has been celebrated by Fast Company, Comparably, Quirks, Great Place to Work, and more. To learn more, follow Zappi on LinkedIn, Instagram and X.

SOURCE Zappi