The short answer is that a brain-scanning neuromarketing study, $15,000 to $80,000 per project, is out of reach for most small businesses. But "can't afford the gold standard" and "can't afford any brain-based prediction" are different sentences, and the second one has a different answer.

Running participant-based studies with fMRI or EEG equipment requires significant budgets, which puts this type of research out of reach for most individuals and smaller organizations.

Some AI-based tools now offer predictions of how the brain may respond to video content. These tools use models that were trained on existing neuroscience data instead of running new studies with participants for every test. As a result, they can provide predictions at a much lower cost than traditional neuromarketing research.

This approach does not replace full participant-based neuromarketing studies, but it makes certain types of brain activity predictions more accessible to a wider range of users.