The ‘Synthetic Idea Pre-Screener’ combines synthetic respondents based on demographic and behavioural profiles and validated against human research surveys.

Brands can evaluate product ideas or concepts and receive rankings and signals to inform the early stages of product innovation.

Zappi said the tool would help teams narrow down large pools of ideas before investing in deeper research.

Steve Phillips, founder, chair and chief innovation officer at Zappi, said: “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 prioritisation decisions that should be informed by consumers.”

Phillips said the tool would “embed access to directional consumer feedback across a broad range of ideas”.

The tool is available in beta to Zappi customers in the US and UK across fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and quick-service restaurant (QSR) categories. The company is planning to make it more broadly available later in 2026.