AI-Powered Research: From Question to Brief in 60 Minutes

Why AI Changes Research for Consultants

Traditional consulting research follows a familiar pattern: hours of Google searches, industry report downloads, competitor website crawls, and synthesizing it all into something coherent. A good research brief might take a junior analyst a full day. With AI, you can produce the same output — or better — in under two hours.

The key is knowing which tools to use for which jobs:

• Perplexity AI — for current, cited information. Think of it as Google with synthesis built in. It searches the web and gives you sourced summaries instead of a list of links to click through.
• Claude — for analysis, synthesis, and structure. Once you have raw information, Claude turns it into frameworks, identifies gaps, generates hypotheses, and writes polished prose.

The Research Brief Template

Before you open any AI tool, know what you're trying to produce. Every research brief should answer five questions:

1. Industry Overview — What is the size, growth rate, and structure of this market?
2. Key Players — Who are the top 5-7 competitors and what do they do well or poorly?
3. Trends and Pressures — What macro forces (technology, regulation, economy) are reshaping the space?
4. Client Positioning — Where does the client sit relative to competitors?
5. Strategic Gaps — Where are the opportunities or vulnerabilities?

That's your deliverable. Now let's use AI to fill it in.

Step 1: Perplexity for Facts and Current Data

Go to perplexity.ai. You'll use it to pull current, sourced information. Here's the key: don't ask vague questions. Ask specific ones.

What is the current market size and projected growth rate
of the [industry] industry in the United States? Include
specific revenue figures, CAGR, and cite your sources.

Who are the top 5-7 companies in [industry]? For each,
give their approximate revenue or market share, their
main product/service, and one thing they're known for
doing particularly well.

What are the 3-5 biggest trends reshaping [industry]
in 2025-2026? Include both technological and regulatory
factors. Be specific — give examples of companies
responding to these trends.

Copy all of this output into a document. You'll feed it to Claude next.

Step 2: Claude for Analysis and Synthesis

Now open Claude at claude.ai. Paste your Perplexity research and use this prompt:

You are a senior strategy consultant preparing a research
brief for a client entering the [industry] space.

I have gathered the following raw research from the web:
[PASTE YOUR PERPLEXITY OUTPUT HERE]

Based on this research, please:
1. Write a 2-paragraph executive summary of the industry
2. Identify the top 3 strategic opportunities for a new entrant
3. Identify the top 3 risks or barriers to entry
4. List 5 questions this research leaves unanswered that
   I should investigate further

Format the output as a clean professional brief with
clear section headers. No bullet points in the summary
paragraphs — use full prose.

Step 3: Identifying What's Missing

AI research has a real limitation: it works from existing published information. It won't know about unpublished data, private company financials, or your client's internal situation. Always ask Claude to surface the gaps:

What information would a senior consultant want that
this research brief doesn't yet answer? Give me
5-7 specific questions to investigate through client
interviews or primary research.

These become your interview guide for the client kickoff call — instant value add, created in minutes.