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For decades, identifying the next big consumer trends and products was an imprecise art dominated by guesswork. Companies would spend millions on market research, only to be caught off guard by sudden shifts in public taste. It was like throwing darts blindfolded. But artificial intelligence has transformed trend forecasting from a fuzzy guessing game into a data-driven science. Artificial intelligence algorithms can now predict hot consumer products by analyzing massive datasets — articles, reviews, social media and search trends, for example — that humans can’t process.
This monumental shift is on par with the discovery of electricity. Companies now have predictive insights once reserved for giants like P&G or Apple. For entrepreneurs, it’s like being handed the answer key before the test. Consumer trends that used to appear out of the blue can now be detected months in advance, allowing startups to launch the right products at the right time. AI turns elusive market intelligence into an actionable advantage open to businesses of any size.
Related: AI Is Poised to Change How We Shop: Here’s What You Need to Know
This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur
