Qualtrics has been named a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave™: Experience Research Platforms, Q1 2026. In its debut appearance in this evaluation, Qualtrics earned top marks in the strategy category, reflecting our commitment to AI-powered innovation and a clear product roadmap.
What the Forrester Wave™ evaluates
The Forrester Wave™ is an independent evaluation that scores and ranks vendors based on their current offering, strategy, and market presence.
For The Forrester Wave™: Experience Research Platforms, Q1 2026, Forrester analyzed platforms that help organizations collect and analyze qualitative data, from usability studies to live interviews to research communities.
This evaluation matters because experience research has become increasingly cross-functional. UX teams, CX professionals, marketers, and product managers all need direct access to audience insights. The platforms that serve them best are those that support continuous research across multiple use cases while using AI to improve efficiency.
What Qualtrics brings to experience research
Qualtrics XM for Market Research launched in 2024, bringing qualitative research capabilities into the broader Qualtrics experience management platform. This means organizations can now run UX studies, brand research, and market research alongside their existing CX and EX programs, all in one place.
According to Forrester, Qualtrics' vision centers on AI-powered research that delivers contextual insights faster. The report notes:
- "Qualtrics' vision is focused on AI-powered research that provides instant contextual insights through AI agents managing the end-to-end research flow and synthetic responses that accelerate reach to the target audience."
- "The vendor shows commitment to delivering innovative features in its roadmap."
The idea is simple: Organizations shouldn't have to choose between speed and depth. AI-powered methods like synthetic responses can help teams test hypotheses quickly, while human panels provide the validation needed for high-stakes decisions.
Why this matters for Qualtrics customers
The real value here is integration. Organizations already using Qualtrics for customer or employee experience programs can now add qualitative research without introducing a new vendor or creating data silos. Research insights connect directly to experience measurement and operational data.
Forrester's assessment confirms it: "Qualtrics' platform is a good fit for existing Qualtrics customers that are looking to add qualitative research capabilities to their toolset."
Customers also benefit from strong participant management capabilities and flexible recruitment options, both third-party panels and customer-provided participants are supported.
Where Qualtrics is headed
Debuting as a Strong Performer in this evaluation reflects the trajectory of a platform that's still evolving. The strategy scores in this report point to where Qualtrics is investing: AI agents that can manage research from planning through analysis, and synthetic audiences that accelerate how quickly teams can reach their target respondents.
For organizations that need to move faster without sacrificing rigor, that combination of innovation and integration creates real opportunity.
Forrester does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. For more information, read about Forrester's objectivity.
