Accelerating the innovation process with AI

Our client, a leader in emergency transportation and medical access services, was under pressure to chart the evolution of the business in the next five years. They needed help developing new service offerings that could deepen penetration with its core audience of older adults, and extend relevance to new segments.

To make that happen, the company needed:

• A clear, validated picture of the needs and motivators that drive action in target segments
• Distinct personas that could guide product and marketing decisions
• A modular product architecture that could evolve with customer needs and be sold in different configurations
• A growth vision and a new go-to-market strategy that could capture different customers with new value propositions

We designed a hybrid research approach that combined human-centered designers with AI-accelerated synthesis — compressing months of work into six weeks without sacrificing depth.

1. AI-Powered Landscape Mapping
Using structured large language model (LLM) prompts, we generated a comprehensive set of potential customer needs, coverage concerns, and related life triggers. This initial, hypothesized needs framework gave us a 'wide lens' of the problem space but did not tell us which needs were most important or for whom.

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2. Qualitative Depth

We conducted 1:1 interviews with target users to probe the need spaces, add to and refine the framework, and uncover emotional drivers. After our own synthesis, we asked the LLM to code the interview transcripts and create a linguistic ontology and mental models of risks.

3. Quantitative Validation
A national survey (~500 respondents) ranked needs by relevance and urgency across life stages, personas, and lifestyle contexts. AI-assisted analysis quickly identified statistically significant differences and emerging patterns.

4. AI-Enhanced Synthesis
By combining cross-study insight clustering with designer judgment, we produced ranked needs frameworks for each persona — showing both universal motivators and segment-specific triggers.

5. Co-Creation & Roadmapping
We used these insights to co-create a product architecture for 5 new offerings, identify key shifts from current offerings, and outline go-to-market plays for priority segments.

The insurer now has a research-backed blueprint for innovation and growth:

1. Six detailed personas
   Rich demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral profiles linked to distinct product opportunities.
2. Ranked needs framework
   Top motivators, coverage concerns, and life triggers — prioritized for each persona.
3. Product architecture vision
   A modular design aligning existing, enhanced, and new offerings to high-value needs.
4. Growth vision & key shifts
   A roadmap for evolving MASA’s portfolio from today’s lineup to a diversified, high-LTV platform.
5. Go-to-market plans
   Segment-specific positioning, messaging, and offer sequencing to accelerate adoption.

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Impact

In just six weeks, our client moved from strategic questions to a validated growth platform — powered by AI’s ability to extend our reach and accelerate synthesis, and grounded in the empathy and rigor of human-centered design.

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