Customer Panel? Too Slow. Here’s the Synthetic Version - with Janet Barker-Evans

Jan 26, 2026

Janet Barker-Evans, creative officer and AI builder who creates custom GPTs and synthetic persona tools for faster marketing research. She talks about using custom GPTs as brainstorming partners. She explains hands-on workshops across multiple models. She describes synthetic persona panels that validate campaigns in hours, not weeks.

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ANECDOTE

Custom GPT Brainstorming Partner

Janet built a custom GPT called Brain Pepper to brainstorm and edit her writing.
She treats her GPTs like partners that pitch crazy ideas and help move drafts quickly.

ADVICE

Protect Confidential Data With Locked Platforms

Avoid putting confidential client data into open public models without controls.
Build or use a locked-down enterprise model when you need to input sensitive information.

ADVICE

Run Hands-On Sandbox Workshops

Run hands-on sandbox workshops where everyone brings a laptop and experiments together.
Teach prompting, share failures openly, and encourage low-risk, playful practice.

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🚀 In this episode, Dietmar Fischer talks with Janet Barker-Evans about what happens when AI stops being a novelty and becomes part of a serious creative workflow.

Janet breaks down how she uses custom GPTs for marketing as brainstorming partners and how synthetic personas can help teams validate campaigns faster, sometimes in a single day instead of waiting weeks for traditional research cycles.

Our topics today include hands-on AI training, multi-model workflows (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot), and why AI fear often comes down to power and control.

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About the Host:

Dietmar is a podcaster and AI marketer from Berlin. If you want to know how to get your AI or your digital marketing going, just contact him at argoberlin.com

🎯 What you will learn:

How synthetic personas in market research and synthetic customers can accelerate concept testing
How custom GPTs for marketing can unlock better creative options
How to choose between tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot for real business work

🕒 Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Janet’s AI origin story

01:47 Custom GPTs as brainstorming partners for marketers

05:05 Hands-on AI workshops: building confidence across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot

15:23 Synthetic personas and rapid creative validation with “persona panels”

20:00 Multi-model workflows: choosing the right tool and making outputs usable

35:03 The wow moments and the fear factor: prototyping visuals, power, control, and what’s next

💬 Quotes from the Episode

“It’s like having a partner who’s not afraid to pitch a crazy idea.”
“When we come up with a creative campaign, we will go test it against our synthetic persona panel.”
“They’re all synthetic!”
“Some of them will poke holes in our thinking, which helps us make it stronger.”
“We can gut check it inside of a day.”
“So, it’s about power, it’s about control…”

🔎 Where to find the Guest

Janet's website: janetbarkerevans.com
AbelsonTayler's website: AbelsonTaylor Group
Or connect on LinkedIn with Janet: Janet Barker-Evans

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed the episode, please follow the show and share it with someone who is trying to ship better work faster.

Music credit: "Modern Situations" by Unicorn Heads

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