The Headlines Sound Inspiring
When Qualtrics announced its $6.75 billion acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta, headlines painted it as a milestone for AI-powered experience management.
→ Forrester analysts, cited by the American Hospital Association, said the acquisition would “set a new standard in healthcare experience management.”
→ Press Ganey’s CEO, Patrick Ryan, promised “AI agents working 24/7, providing insights that can change the way healthcare is delivered.”
→ And Qualtrics’ CEO Zig Serafin described it as a way to “accelerate the adoption of AI and create the most comprehensive platform for improving the human experience.”
Sounds visionary, right?
Let’s translate that into plain English:
We just bought decades of patient and employee data so our AI can get a whole lot smarter; and a whole lot more profitable.
Turning Experience into an Asset Class
Press Ganey Forsta brings decades of benchmarking data with millions of patient, employee, and clinical experience records across 41,000 providers in 30 countries.
By acquiring it, Qualtrics gains something far more valuable than software: exclusive, longitudinal, human-experience data.
The press release frames it as synergy:
“Together, Qualtrics and Press Ganey Forsta will deliver better and more attuned products, services, and experiences powered by a deep understanding of the customers, employees, and industries they serve.”
→ Translation: They’re not just integrating data. They’re ingesting it, to rebuild proprietary AI models that can be monetized across industries.
As Serafin put it:
“There’s no more important proving ground for experience management than healthcare.”
→ Translation: Healthcare will be their AI test lab, where every piece of feedback fuels the next commercial product.
When Data Becomes a Weapon
This deal doesn’t just reshape healthcare. It rewrites the power map of the entire experience management industry.
→ Data Consolidation: Once-independent platforms such as Forsta, Press Ganey, InMoment, and Qualtrics are now converging under a handful of mega vendors. What was once a competitive ecosystem of ideas is becoming a market of manufactured control.
→ The Manufactured Truth: When a company controls the data, it owns the narrative. This isn’t innovation – it’s a monopoly by algorithm. Shared human insights is being repackaged as commercial leverage and sold back to the very industries that created it.
→ Illusion of Ownership: Providers, hospitals, and even patients lose visibility into how their feedback is used once it’s inside a commercial model. What’s framed as ‘partnership’ often means your data is fueling someone else’s product pipeline.
While the public narrative focuses on ‘improving care,’ the commercial narrative is clear:
Experience data is no longer the byproduct. It is the product.
The Ethical Crossroads
Healthcare depends on trust. But as data moves from hospitals to cloud-based AI models, the boundaries get blurry.
Here’s what few are asking:
→ Who owns the AI once it’s trained on your data?
→ Can you opt out of your data being used for commercial modeling?
→ Will you eventually have to pay for insights derived from your own patients’ experiences?
Patrick Ryan said:
“AI is only as good as the intelligence that you put into it, and the Press Ganey platform and the intelligence we’ve been able to collect over the years is really the golden asset.”
→ Translation: The ‘intelligence’ they’re putting in is your feedback data, and the ‘golden asset’ is your trust.
QuestionPro’s Counter-Model: AI Built Authentically, Not Acquired
At QuestionPro, we believe technology should empower, not extract.
That’s why we’ve chosen a path few others take. One grounded in ethics, autonomy, and partnership.
Your Data. Your Power.
Every organization that uses QuestionPro retains full ownership and control of their data.
We don’t train models behind the scenes or fold customer information into a collective dataset.
You decide how it’s stored, analyzed, and applied. Because transparency isn’t optional. It’s fundamental.
Our philosophy is simple: leadership starts with restraint.
We could use customer data to power our own insights, but that would betray the very trust we stand for.
Instead, we invest in independent research, original data collection, and authentic benchmarking.
Because trust cannot be taken. It must be earned.
AI built with integrity, not acquisition.
→ Translation: We’d rather build trust than buy data.
Intelligence That Grows With You
Our AI is natively developed, designed to learn only within the boundaries you define.
We don’t feed it information from other clients. We don’t harvest insights for resale.
Every capability is intentional, created to evolve with you, not at your expense.
→ Translation: Every model we build is contextually relevant, ethically trained, and fully aligned with your business objectives; not ours.
The Human at the Center
At the heart of our philosophy is empathy.
AI should never replace the human touch; it should amplify human understanding.
That’s why we build solutions that deepen connections, not distance them.
From real-time feedback loops to closed-loop ticketing and journey management, we provide tools that bring people closer to the moments that matter.
→ Translation: AI should never speak for people. It should help people listen better.
Transparency Over Transaction
While others race to acquire datasets, we’re racing to earn trust.
Our innovation roadmap isn’t fueled by acquisition; it’s fueled by integrity.
Because the future of AI won’t be defined by who has the most data, but by who uses it most responsibly.
→ Translation: You don’t need to own the world’s data to change it. You just need permission to use it right.
The Bigger Picture
The Qualtrics–Press Ganey deal marks a turning point. Experience data has officially become an asset class.
But at QuestionPro, we believe the human experience should never be reduced to a training set or balance sheet entry.
We’re building a future where:
→ Transparency > Acquisition
→ Collaboration > Consolidation
→ Trust > Transaction
Because AI that grows from purpose will always surpass AI that grows from purchase. You can’t buy trust for $6.75 billion.
Closing Thought
The future of experience management comes down to one question:
Will AI help us understand people better, or just sell to them smarter?
At QuestionPro, we’re building for the former.
Because your data shouldn’t be someone else’s product. It should be your power.
Sources
American Hospital Association. “What the Qualtrics Acquisition of Press Ganey Forsta Will Mean for Health Care.” AHA Center for Health Innovation, October 14, 2025. Read the article →
Fazio, Colleen; Johnson, David; Trzcinski, Arielle; & Weather, Judy. “Qualtrics’ Planned Acquisition Of Press Ganey Forsta Shakes Up Multiple Markets.” Forrester, October 7, 2025. Read the article →
Millard, Mike. “Qualtrics Sees AI Opportunities in $6.75B Press Ganey Acquisition.” Healthcare IT News, October 7, 2025. Read the article →
Press Ganey. “Qualtrics to Invest $6.75 Billion in Press Ganey Forsta Acquisition to Advance AI-Powered Experience Management.” Press Release, October 6, 2025. View source →
Serafin, Zig. “A Major Milestone in Qualtrics’ Vision to Improve the Human Experience.” Qualtrics, October 6, 2025. View source →
