Creative Testing Glossary

Industry terms for AI-powered market research, synthetic personas, and creative testing—and how Navay's approach compares.

The synthetic research and AI creative testing space is evolving fast. Different vendors use different terms for similar concepts. This glossary maps Navay's terminology to industry-standard terms so you can compare approaches and understand what various tools actually do.

Quick Reference: Navay vs. Industry Terms

Navay Term Industry Equivalents Who Uses It
Virtual Voices Synthetic personas, AI personas, synthetic users, synthetic respondents Synthetic Users, OpinioAI, Aaru
Focus Group (in Chorus) Synthetic focus groups, AI focus groups, virtual focus groups OpinioAI, Ask Rally
Quick Check AI creative scoring, ad pre-testing, predictive creative testing Kantar LINK AI, Zappi
Analysis AI creative audit, ad effectiveness analysis System1, AdSkate
Testing Kits Creative scoring rubrics, evaluation frameworks Internal term—most tools don't expose criteria structure

Detailed Definitions

What are Virtual Voices (Synthetic Personas)?

Virtual Voices are AI-generated personas with coherent identities—demographics, psychographics, values, communication patterns—that evaluate content from specific perspectives. The industry uses various terms for similar concepts:

  • Synthetic users (Synthetic Users) — AI-simulated research participants
  • Synthetic personas (OpinioAI, Accenture) — AI-generated customer profiles
  • AI agents (Aaru) — Multi-agent systems that model populations
  • Synthetic respondents (NIQ, Qualtrics) — Automated survey participants

Virtual Voices in Chorus are optimized specifically for creative testing and content evaluation—a narrower focus than general-purpose synthetic users or prediction engines.

Learn more about Virtual Voices →

What are Synthetic Focus Groups (AI Focus Groups)?

Synthetic focus groups use AI personas instead of recruited human participants to evaluate creative and provide qualitative feedback. Benefits include:

  • No recruitment delays or scheduling conflicts
  • No groupthink or moderator bias
  • Consistent, reproducible results
  • Available in minutes, not weeks

In Chorus, Focus Group Research assembles up to 12 Virtual Voices who each evaluate your creative independently, then synthesizes their feedback into actionable insights.

See what a synthetic focus group report looks like →

What is AI Creative Testing (Ad Pre-Testing)?

Creative testing evaluates ads, landing pages, and marketing content before launch. Traditional approaches include focus groups, surveys, and A/B testing. AI-powered approaches add:

  • AI creative scoring — Automated evaluation against structured criteria (what Chorus calls Quick Check)
  • Predictive creative testing — Using AI to predict in-market performance
  • Creative effectiveness analysis — Detailed breakdown of what's working and what isn't

Major players include Kantar's LINK AI (trained on 260k+ ad tests), System1's Test Your Ad (emotion-based scoring), and Zappi (consumer feedback platform).

Compare the three creative testing approaches in Chorus →

What are Testing Kits (Creative Scoring Rubrics)?

Testing Kits are pre-configured evaluation frameworks with structured criteria for specific content types. The industry calls these:

  • Creative scoring rubrics — Standardized criteria for evaluating ads
  • Evaluation frameworks — Structured assessment templates
  • Ad testing criteria — Dimensions like clarity, trust, CTA strength

Unlike black-box AI scoring, Chorus exposes the criteria so you can see exactly what's being evaluated and customize kits for your specific needs.

Learn how Testing Kits work →

The Synthetic Research Landscape (2025)

The market for AI-powered research is growing rapidly. According to industry reports, 89% of market researchers now use AI tools, and 71% expect synthetic responses to dominate research within 3 years.

Enterprise Players

  • • Kantar LINK AI — Ad testing at scale (260k+ tests)
  • • System1 — Emotion-based creative effectiveness
  • • Aaru — Population-level prediction engines
  • • NIQ — Synthetic respondent augmentation

Emerging Tools

  • • Synthetic Users — User research interviews
  • • OpinioAI — Synthetic focus groups
  • • Ask Rally — Virtual audience testing
  • • Chorus by Navay — Creative testing with Virtual Voices