Case Study: How Market Logic Helped SBB Make Research Accessible and Challenge Passenger Assumptions with AI Personas
By Market Logic
- case study
- AI Personas
- Artificial Intelligence
- AI
- Data Connectivity
- Insight Activation
- Insight Transformation
- Survey Data Centralisation
- Knowledge Management
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) is the backbone of Switzerland’s public transport system. It serves a diverse passenger base but struggled to make customer research easy to access. Finding relevant evidence could take several days. Teams had to search SharePoint, ask colleagues, and review files manually. There was also a cultural challenge. Employees’ own experience of rail travel could create blind spots. This made it harder to understand passengers whose journeys were different from their own.
Market Logic’s DeepSights platform gave selected employees access to a curated research base in multiple languages. Users could ask questions in natural language and get answers linked to their sources. This replaced the need for manual file searches. DeepSights Personas were introduced in December 2025. Ten scenario-based AI personas represented different passenger and stakeholder groups. The rollout used a focused and governed approach, with curated content and role-based access. The personas were also introduced at a leadership conference attended by around 1,500 managers. Structured three-hour leadership sessions were then planned across up to 20 groups of around 20 participants.
Users gained immediate access to existing research without having to search for files or ask colleagues. This replaced a process that had taken days. Checking existing evidence became the first step in new research planning. The leadership pilot team said persona conversations surfaced new perspectives, clarified questions, and challenged preconceptions. SBB acknowledged that wider behaviour change takes time and that the impact of AI is still being assessed.
“The personas give different answers, which is really important for our leaders to understand: there is not just one customer, and one size does not fit all.” — Dr. Alexandra Daniela Zaugg, Senior Customer Insights Manager, SBB CFF FFS
