At the end of every year, hundreds of smart, insightful research papers get published about trends, platforms, users, and all sorts of interesting topics. But who has time to read them all? To get straight to the good stuff, we used OpenAI’s GPT builder to analyze dozens of them, then asked it a series of questions.

(Of course, we also had a more meta-motivation here, which is to demonstrate just how powerful Custom GPTs can be with one hyper-specific, but super useful example.)

Question 1:

What are the most interesting and potentially impactful insights that businesses should be paying attention to in 2024?

  1. Consumer Behavior:
    • Sustainability Focus: Eco-savvy purchasing and traveling is increasingly important. Consumers are opting for eco-friendly options, showing a strong preference for sustainable products, accommodations, and practices.
    • Experience-Driven Travel: There’s a shift towards seeking authentic, unique experiences. This includes culinary explorations, cultural immersion, and off-the-beaten-path adventures​​​​​​.
    • Digital Integration: Increased reliance on digital tools for planning, booking, and experiencing products and services. This includes the use of AI for personalized experiences and the rise in mobile payments and digital wallets​​​​.
  2. Emerging Technologies:
    • Generative AI: A significant trend across industries, including shopping, customer service, travel, and gaming, offering personalized experiences and new business opportunities​​.
    • Quantum Computing: Although still emerging, it’s a potential game-changer for data processing and problem-solving in various sectors​​.
  3. Marketing and Social Media Trends:
    • Influencer Impact: Influencers continue to shape consumer preferences, especially in culture, travel, and lifestyle choices​​​​.
    • Social Media Dynamics: Platforms are rapidly evolving with new formats and trends, requiring marketers to stay agile and responsive to platform-specific audiences and content strategies​​.

Those answers were a good place to start looking, if a bit general, so for our next question we put the GPT to work, interpreting all of the data to come up with a series of ways that we can take action.

Question 2:

What are some of the ways that businesses can take action right now to either capitalize on those insights, or stay ahead of the trends?

  1. Adopt Sustainable Practices: Incorporate eco-friendly options and sustainability into your offerings. Highlight these practices in your marketing to appeal to the eco-conscious buyer.
  2. Focus on Unique Experiences: Develop and promote unique, authentic experiences. Leverage local culture and lesser-known attractions to cater to the demand for new and immersive experiences.
  3. Leverage Digital Tools: Invest in AI and digital solutions for customer service, personalized offerings, and efficient operations. Ensure a strong online presence and seamless digital payment options.
  4. Engage with Influencers: Collaborate with influencers whose scale matches that of your business and those who can help you to reach wider audiences. Choose influencers who align with your brand values and can authentically represent your offerings.
  5. Adapt to Social Media Trends: Stay updated with the latest social media trends. Specifically pay attention to the following three.
    1. Short-Form Video Content:
      • Trend: The rise of platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels has popularized short-form video content. This format is engaging, easy to consume, and highly shareable.
      • Adaptation: Create concise, captivating videos that tell a story or showcase your offerings in an engaging way. Utilize features like Instagram Reels or TikTok challenges to increase visibility.
    2. Authentic and Relatable Content:
      • Trend: Audiences are leaning towards content that feels genuine and relatable, moving away from overly curated and polished posts.
      • Adaptation: Share behind-the-scenes content, real stories, and testimonials. Emphasize human elements and authenticity in your branding and social media narrative.
    3. Interactive and Immersive Experiences:
      • Trend: Features like AR filters, interactive polls, and live streaming are gaining traction, offering immersive experiences to users.
      • Adaptation: Use AR features for virtual try-ons or tours. Engage audiences with polls, Q&A sessions, and live streaming events to foster a sense of community and interaction.

Question 3:

Of all of the statistics, research, and data found in these reports, create a list of the most important ones that every businessperson should be aware of.

  1. Generative AI and Cybersecurity:
    • 41% of IT decision-makers support passwordless authentication for stronger identity security​​.
    • 2024: The year when a spike in generative AI-driven cyberattacks is expected, especially targeting the healthcare industry​​.
  2. Remote Work and Business Trends:
    • 90% of companies are looking to bring workers back to the office by the end of 2024, indicating a shift from remote work​​.
    • Continued Layoffs: Persistent layoffs in the tech industry are expected through 2024, particularly as companies taken private — by private equity firms — look to cut costs​​.
  3. Social Media and Digital Marketing:
    • 60% of Gen Z uses technology to save money on purchases, reflecting their digital savviness and technology’s influence on buying decisions​​.
    • 40% of travelers experience problems with cash while traveling, highlighting the shift towards digital payments​​.
  4. Consumer Behavior Towards Sustainability:
    • 86% of Mexican travelers will choose eco-travel options if they are cost-effective, indicating a strong preference for sustainable practices​​.
    • 71% of Brazilian travelers are interested in eco-friendly travel options, showing a growing trend towards environmental consciousness​​.
  5. Travel Behavior and Preferences:
    • Global travel demand has reached 91% of its 2019 levels, indicating near complete recovery from pandemic lows​​.
    • 62% of travelers enjoy the anonymity of travel to recreate themselves​​.
    • 56% of travelers are seeking cooler destinations to escape rising temperatures​​.
    • 55% of travelers are interested in trips without set plans, preferring spontaneity​​.
    • 81% of travellers are interested in trying indigenous cuisines during travel​​.

Was that a lot? Yes (congratulations on making it this far). Was it much more convenient than actually sifting through the thousands of pages of reports? 100%. Was it imperfect? Absolutely.

And that’s the big takeaway that I hope you get from this exercise, which is that AI is going to impact just about everything that we do this year, and it’s going to save us a ton of time, but at least at this point, it’s only going to do about a C+ job.

The best, and most effective, uses of AI in 2024 are going to come from a combination of superhuman tools, paired with very-human skills, like empathy, creativity, humour, and innovation.

See something we missed? We’d love to chat about your thoughts on A.I. Give us a shout at hello@wearejunction.com