UX Research Must Be Fast and Strategic to Survive
Thu Dec 18 2025
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In this episode of UX Leadership by Design, Mark Baldino talks with Ryan Glasgow, CEO and founder of Sprig, about the future of UX research in an AI-first world. Ryan shares how Sprig was built to replace legacy survey tools like Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey by enabling real-time, in-context feedback and powerful AI-driven analysis. The conversation dives deep into how modern research can scale with fewer resources, why AI should be seen as an intern—not a threat—and how researchers can thrive by shifting toward strategic influence within organizations. If you’re in product, design, or research leadership, this one’s for you.
Key Takeaways
Legacy research tools are broken – They’re disconnected from user behavior and painfully slow—Sprig fixes that by embedding surveys in key workflows.AI isn’t here to replace you—it’s your intern – The most successful teams treat AI like an eager junior teammate that accelerates insights and frees up strategic thinking.UX research is evolving toward strategic impact – Tactical research is being democratized across teams; researchers who shift toward company-level strategy will thrive.Tool bloat is real—consolidation is the future – Many orgs are replacing 3–5 survey tools with Sprig to reduce costs and streamline workflows.You can’t scale great product experiences without scaling insights – Research embedded across the product journey is the only way to keep up.Designers and Product Managers are sharing research responsibilities – It’s now table stakes for cross-functional teams to gather, analyze, and act on feedback.Sprig uses Sprig – The team applies its own product to optimize A/B testing, feature development, and in-product recruiting—truly eating their own dog food.Chapters
From Product to Founder: Why Build Sprig – 01:00What Legacy Survey Tools Get Wrong – 04:00Sprig’s End-to-End Research Workflow – 07:30Using Sprig to Build Sprig (Meta UX) – 09:45AI as Intern: Supercharging Strategic Work – 22:00The New Research Stack: Strategic > Tactical – 29:00The Future of UX Research Teams – 31:00
Resources & Links
Connect with Ryan on LinkedInSprig AI-Native Survey App
Connect with Mark on LinkedIn Fuzzy Math - B2B & Enterprise UX Design Consultancy
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Send us a text In this episode of UX Leadership by Design, Mark Baldino talks with Ryan Glasgow, CEO and founder of Sprig, about the future of UX research in an AI-first world. Ryan shares how Sprig was built to replace legacy survey tools like Qualtrics and SurveyMonkey by enabling real-time, in-context feedback and powerful AI-driven analysis. The conversation dives deep into how modern research can scale with fewer resources, why AI should be seen as an intern—not a threat—and how researchers can thrive by shifting toward strategic influence within organizations. If you’re in product, design, or research leadership, this one’s for you. Key Takeaways Legacy research tools are broken – They’re disconnected from user behavior and painfully slow—Sprig fixes that by embedding surveys in key workflows.AI isn’t here to replace you—it’s your intern – The most successful teams treat AI like an eager junior teammate that accelerates insights and frees up strategic thinking.UX research is evolving toward strategic impact – Tactical research is being democratized across teams; researchers who shift toward company-level strategy will thrive.Tool bloat is real—consolidation is the future – Many orgs are replacing 3–5 survey tools with Sprig to reduce costs and streamline workflows.You can’t scale great product experiences without scaling insights – Research embedded across the product journey is the only way to keep up.Designers and Product Managers are sharing research responsibilities – It’s now table stakes for cross-functional teams to gather, analyze, and act on feedback.Sprig uses Sprig – The team applies its own product to optimize A/B testing, feature development, and in-product recruiting—truly eating their own dog food.Chapters From Product to Founder: Why Build Sprig – 01:00What Legacy Survey Tools Get Wrong – 04:00Sprig’s End-to-End Research Workflow – 07:30Using Sprig to Build Sprig (Meta UX) – 09:45AI as Intern: Supercharging Strategic Work – 22:00The New Research Stack: Strategic > Tactical – 29:00The Future of UX Research Teams – 31:00 Resources & Links Connect with Ryan on LinkedInSprig AI-Native Survey App Connect with Mark on LinkedIn Fuzzy Math - B2B & Enterprise UX Design Consultancy