Before you deploy AI, understand the humans it will affect

Workforce AI readiness assessment

Assembled is a Singapore market research agency founded in 2016 by Managing Director Felicia Hu, who has personally moderated more than 600 research projects across consumer goods, financial services, healthcare, and technology. Published in MRS Research Live and ESOMAR Research World, and quoted in the South China Morning Post, Felicia leads all AI transformation research directly. With a 100,000-member proprietary panel and bilingual moderation in English and Mandarin, Assembled brings structured qualitative methodology to understanding how workforces respond to AI adoption.

We conduct 15-25 employee depth interviews plus 3-4 focus groups across job families affected by AI implementation. Each interview maps the employee's current task inventory, identifies which tasks feel automatable versus which require human judgment, surfaces fears and resistance patterns, and assesses skill gaps between current capability and AI-augmented workflows. The output is a Workforce AI Readiness Report that gives leadership teams the diagnostic they need before prescribing technology solutions or job redesign programs.

This research product is the "assessment" phase that every SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (WDG JR+) project needs. The grant covers up to 70% of qualifying costs for SMEs, capped per enterprise.

Customer AI acceptance research

Companies deploying AI-powered customer interactions face a question that surveys cannot answer well. Will customers accept automated service, and which segments will and which will walk away? A restaurant chain implementing AI ordering needs to understand how its customer base (across age, language preference, and tech comfort) will respond. An insurance company rolling out AI claims processing needs to know which policyholder segments require human escalation paths.

We run 20-30 customer depth interviews plus 4 focus groups exploring reactions to specific AI-mediated service scenarios. The research tests acceptance by segment, identifies trust barriers, maps preferences for human versus AI interaction at each touchpoint, and produces communication strategy recommendations for the transition. This is the same qualitative research methodology Assembled uses for consumer product testing and brand perception studies, applied to the specific question of how customers will respond to AI.

This research qualifies for EDG co-funding under the Innovation and Productivity pillar at 50% for SMEs. From 2H2026, the unified EDGE grant will support up to SGD 100,000 per year for eligible activities.

AI experience design research

For organizations undertaking comprehensive AI transformation, the employee and customer research need to speak to each other. A bank deploying AI across both back-office operations and customer-facing channels needs a unified view. How do loan officers feel about AI-assisted underwriting? How do applicants feel about AI-generated responses to their enquiries? Where do the employee experience and customer experience intersect?

Our combined program integrates workforce readiness assessment and customer acceptance testing into a single Integrated AI Transformation Insight Report. The report identifies where AI will land smoothly, where it will face friction, and where the gap between employee readiness and customer expectation creates risk. This is the highest-value product in the AI research portfolio, typically commissioned by organizations with 200+ employees undergoing multi-workstream AI transformation.