We contextualize and highlight an innovative methodology for copolymer analysis introduced by Hibiet al.inChemical Science(Y. Hibi, S. Uesaka and M. Naito,Chem. Sci., 2023,https://doi.org/10.1039/D2SC06974A). The authors introduce an advanced mass spectrometric method driven by a learning algorithm, termed ‘reference-free quantitative mass spectrometry’ (RQMS) for decoding sequences of copolymers in real time, including as a function of reaction progress. We highlight potential future implications and applications of the RQMS technique, as well as look forward to where else RQMS could be utilized within the soft matter materials space.