What’s Predictive in a Persona?
June 24, 2025
To predict the future, we must track what people actually do and the job they urgently need done.
Mike Taylor
Mike Taylor is the CEO & Co-Founder of Rally. He previously co-founded a 50-person growth marketing agency called Ladder, created marketing & AI courses on LinkedIn, Vexpower, and Udemy taken by over 450,000 people, and published a book with O’Reilly on prompt engineering.
Articles by Mike Taylor
Showing 1-9 of 13 articles
My Co-Founder Proved Me Wrong
June 17, 2025
When your proposed change to the homepage CTA sparks hesitation, you can lean on synthetic research using AI personas to validate the idea quickly and without risk, even without the traffic for traditional A/B testing.
The ‘Dutch Chris’ Problem
June 16, 2025
Reconstructing personas solely from aggregate statistics can mash together incompatible traits—what we call the “Dutch Chris” problem—causing synthetic research to hallucinate unrealistic individuals and skew insights. You can combat this by using LLMs’ real-world knowledge of trait correlations as scaffolding and an iterative calibration process, raising the fidelity of virtual audiences toward the 70–80% accuracy needed for reliable, cost-effective studies.
AI Broke Entry-Level Hiring
June 09, 2025
AI has decimated traditional entry-level roles, leaving recent graduates stranded without a foothold in the job market. But by using advanced simulations to replicate real-world challenges, we can create new pathways for skill-building and hiring—restoring opportunity in a workforce increasingly shaped by automation.
The Intention-Action Gap
June 04, 2025
AI market research often mirrors human biases, replicating stated intentions rather than actual behaviors. However, by carefully selecting and calibrating AI models, synthetic research can bridge the critical gap between what consumers say they'll do and their real-world actions.
How To Replicate Tim Ferriss's Famous Title Test Using AI Personas
May 28, 2025
Tim Ferriss turned a rejected book title into a data-driven naming experiment that birthed “The 4-Hour Workweek.” and sold millions of copies world wide. Today, AI persona testing lets anyone speed-run that same market-validation magic for pennies.
Correcting Bias in LLMs with DSPy
May 21, 2025
Left unchecked, large language models can massively distort reality. Our baseline simulation showed 90.6% of AI personas voting Democrat, a 40-point deviation from expected. But with DSPy optimization, we achieved near-perfect political balance, proving that prompt calibration isn’t optional, it’s essential.
Cheaters, Speeders, and Repeaters
May 20, 2025
Traditional surveys are overrun by cheaters, speeders, and repeaters, warping data and devouring your calendar. Validated AI personas slash the noise, delivering human-level insights with 85 % accuracy—no bribery, no burnout.
Personification: Combining Disconnected Datasets To Construct Realistic Synthetic Audiences
April 12, 2025
Unlock hidden market insights through personification—a technique that transforms disconnected data into synthetic consumer profiles by bridging datasets while preserving statistical relationships. Perfect for marketers seeking deeper consumer understanding without compromising privacy or budget constraints.