Akraya, Inc.

Most AI products don’t fail after launch. They fail before it. Not because of technology. Because of missing validation. Assumptions go untested. Users go unheard. Risk goes unnoticed. By the time it’s built, it’s already misaligned. Read more on how Rapid Research helps accelerate insights necessary for AI Product teams without compromising on the rigor https://lnkd.in/gmRYc7MU #UXResearch #rapidresearch #AI #ProductStrategy #Akraya

We test AI tools for a living. Here’s the biggest mindset shift we had to make. Traditional UX research assumes a deterministic world: the button either works or it doesn’t. AI breaks that assumption entirely. When an AI code generator gives two participants slightly different outputs from the same input, that’s not a bug. It might be the feature working exactly as designed. This means UX researchers need to shift from deterministic thinking to probabilistic thinking. We’re no longer evaluating if something worked. We’re evaluating whether the unpredictability helps or hurts the user. In our latest Akraya, Inc. workshop, our UX Research Manager Ryan M., who’s led AI tooling research at Google for 5 years, shared the specific protocols we use to handle this chaos: • How to structure sessions so AI variance doesn’t corrupt your data • The dual-input strategy that saved dozens of our sessions • What to do when the model hallucinates mid-session • Why your first question in every AI study kick-off should be: “Where does it source its data?” We’ve documented these field notes into a practical guide for researchers navigating the "Black Box." Check out the full field guide here: https://lnkd.in/d2tPFFMB #UXResearch #AIResearch #UserResearch #AITools #UXDesign #ProductResearch

Team Akraya is excited to attend the upcoming Allegis Global Solutions Strategic Supplier Summit in Jacksonville. Looking forward to connecting with AGS leaders, industry peers, and fellow strategic suppliers for meaningful conversations around workforce trends, partnerships, and the future of talent solutions. We’re especially proud to continue growing our partnership with AGS and to have been recognized as a Top Strategic Supplier for four consecutive years. Recognition like this reflects the strength of collaboration, consistency, and shared commitment to delivering impact. If you’ll be attending the summit, we’d love to connect. Pamela Banerjee, PMP, CCWP, CCWP-SOW, Asmita Athalye, CCWP and CCWP-SOW Expert #Akraya #SupplierSummit #StrategicPartnerships #WorkforceSolutions

Your #AgenticAI pilot worked. Your production deployment did not. This is the most common pattern in #EnterpriseAI right now. And in almost every case, the model is not the problem. The real bottleneck is data architecture. Specifically, the gap between what agentic AI actually demands from your data and what most enterprise stacks were built to deliver. Agents do not consume data the way dashboards do. They operate in continuous decision loops, pulling context across domains, in real time, with full auditability expected at every step. Batch pipelines, siloed systems, and ad hoc integrations cannot support that. They just make it look like they can, until production exposes them. In our latest blog, we break down exactly what AI-ready data means in practice: - The 5 criteria your architecture needs to meet before agents go live - The 4 metrics that tell you where your stack falls short today - Why the open data lakehouse is replacing the warehouse for agentic workloads If your team is building toward agentic AI in 2026, this is the architectural conversation you need to have before the next pilot launches. Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/dHjYMbyW #DataArchitecture #AIReadyData #DataGovernance

Most #UXResearch budgets are one tough quarter away from being cut. Not because the work isn't valuable. Because the value isn't being communicated in the language executives actually use to make decisions. This usability gap is costing us onboarding conversions and increasing support dependency. The research teams that are winning right now are not the ones producing the most reports. They are the ones connecting user behavior to measurable business outcomes, defect reduction, onboarding drop-off rates, cost per insight, and engineering rework avoided. McKinsey & Company tracked 300 companies over five years and found that design leaders grew revenue at nearly twice the rate of their industry peers. The differentiator was not better aesthetics. It was user-centricity embedded into how business decisions get made. The tools, the frameworks, and the business case are all there. What is missing in most organizations is the translation layer between research insight and executive decision-making. We wrote about exactly how to build that layer, including the three metrics that are becoming central to executive conversations in 2026, and what the shift from project-based research to operationalized insight systems actually looks like in practice. Read the full blog here: https://lnkd.in/dFsC6TRu #EnterpriseAI #ProductStrategy #UserExperience #ResearchROI #Akraya

AI products don’t become enterprise-ready through models alone. They become enterprise-ready through measurable outcomes, scalable research systems, and faster decision-making. For a global health & wearables technology leader, Akraya built a quantitative UX research and AI measurement framework that transformed how product insights were collected, analyzed, and operationalized at scale. The impact: → 50% faster reporting turnaround → $12.8M annualized cost avoidance → Automated AI insight pipelines → Scalable measurement systems for trust, engagement, and product performance This is where AI transformation becomes real, not just in deployment, but in how organizations measure, validate, and improve products continuously. See how Akraya helped build scalable AI measurement infrastructure ↓ https://lnkd.in/gRi7m6ms #AI #EnterpriseAI #UXResearch #DigitalTransformation #ProductStrategy #Akraya

52 million+ steps. One incredible Q1 journey. 👟🌍 Inspired by our Q1 Avatar theme, the Akraya Way of Walker - Steps Challenge brought Akrayans together across teams, locations, and routines through movement, motivation, and friendly competition. From daily milestones to collective goals, every step contributed to something bigger, and together, we crossed an amazing 52M+ steps. Thank you to every Akrayan who participated and made the challenge such a success. #Akraya #WellnessAtWork #EmployeeEngagement #WorkplaceCulture #StepsChallenge #QuarterTheme

We test AI tools for a living. Here’s the biggest mindset shift we had to make. Traditional UX research assumes a deterministic world: the button either works or it doesn’t. AI breaks that assumption entirely. When an AI code generator gives two participants slightly different outputs from the same input, that’s not a bug. It might be the feature working exactly as designed.  This means UX researchers need to shift from deterministic thinking to probabilistic thinking. We’re no longer evaluating if something worked. We’re evaluating whether the unpredictability helps or hurts the user. In our latest Akraya, Inc. workshop, our UX Research Manager Ryan M., who’s led AI tooling research at Google for 5 years, shared the specific protocols we use to handle this chaos:  • How to structure sessions so AI variance doesn’t corrupt your data • The dual-input strategy that saved dozens of our sessions • What to do when the model hallucinates mid-session • Why your first question in every AI study kick-off should be: “Where does it source its data?” We’ve documented these field notes into a practical guide for researchers navigating the "Black Box." Check out the full field guide here:  https://lnkd.in/dbYsaByJ #UXResearch #AIResearch #UserResearch #AITools #UXDesign #ProductResearch

At Akraya, we know that behind so many strong teams, careers, and communities are mothers and mother figures balancing countless roles with care, resilience, and strength. Today, we celebrate and appreciate all the incredible moms across the Akraya community who continue to inspire those around them every single day. 💐 Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Akraya. #MothersDay #Akraya #PeopleFirst

Why are enterprises moving from contractors to POD teams? Because the model has changed.   It’s no longer about filling roles.  It’s about driving outcomes.   → Ownership over task execution  → Speed over handoffs  → Accountability over activity  → Outcomes over inputs   The shift is already happening.   #WorkforceStrategy #ManagedServices #FutureOfWork #Akraya