A/B tests are more of a thing in the ecommerce and ad-tech space and only a small aspect of the UX research methodology landscape, see: https://www.nngroup.com/

A/B tests are more of a thing in the ecommerce and ad-tech space and only a small aspect of the UX research methodology landscape, see: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/ https://www.nngroup.com/articles/which-ux-research-methods/ The field of HCI (and Human Factors before it) pioneered the application of qualitative research methods from adjacent fields e.g. anthropology, cognitive/social sciences, etc. towards computers and information technology. Optimizing for 'ad engagement' seems to be a recent phenomenon in the timeline of HCI and arguably is being written by the likes of Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. and the people on their payroll who sold their soul to make this their life's work.