New Research Reveals that AI Brings Productivity Gains

Alteryx, an AI platform for enterprise analytics, has today released research exploring the evolving role of the data analyst. The report, titled The 2025 State of the Data Analyst in the Age of AI, surveyed 1,400 global analysts—including data, IT, and operations analysts—across five industries to determine how the role is changing amidst the rapid rise of analytics automation and AI tools. The findings indicate a shift toward a more strategic role, reflecting the transformation of the traditional analyst.

Key Findings:
● AI boosts productivity: Seven in ten analysts say AI and analytics automation make them more effective and efficient in their roles, with 76% of analysts in the UAE agreeing.

● Spreadsheet dependency remains: 76% of analysts still rely on spreadsheets for data preparation tasks.

● The role of the analyst is becoming more strategic: In the Middle East, nine in ten respondents say AI has transformed their work in the past year, including 93% in the UAE and 91% in Saudi Arabia. Globally, 94% of surveyed data analysts agree that their role impacts strategic decision-making, while 87% say their influence on business decisions has increased over the past year.

● Career growth and AI: Only 17% of analysts express deep concern that AI will take over their jobs, while 90% believe AI will facilitate career growth.

AI tools appear to be making the data analyst’s role more strategic; however, an overwhelming 76% of analysts still use spreadsheets as their primary tool for cleaning and preparing data. Nearly half (45%) of data professionals surveyed continue to spend over six hours per week on data cleansing and preparation tasks. This ongoing dependency on manual data manipulation can create inefficiencies and, more importantly, inaccuracies—potentially threatening AI output quality due to AI’s reliance on high-quality data.

While this reliance on spreadsheets persists, data analysts remain highly optimistic about the future. Nine in ten respondents in the Middle East say AI has transformed their work in the past year, including 93% in the UAE and 91% in Saudi Arabia, while 84% have observed this shift over the past three to five years. Globally, nearly half (48%) of analysts surveyed anticipate significant career advancement opportunities driven by AI adoption and use. In the UAE, 96% of analysts believe learning AI will enhance their professional growth, with 79% saying it improves their effectiveness and efficiency.

Data analysts in Saudi Arabia are the least concerned about being replaced by AI: only 9% consider it a serious concern, while 47% have little or no anxiety about the possibility. Globally, 17% of surveyed data analysts worry about AI replacing their jobs—marking a significant decline from a similar 2024 survey of IT and data leaders, where 65% believed generative AI would likely replace existing job roles within the next two to three years.

“For data analysts, the results are crystal clear,” stated Jay Henderson, SVP of Product at Alteryx. “Leveraging AI as an everyday tool has boosted job satisfaction and reclaimed valuable hours for analysts. For organisations, the challenge is to optimise these productivity gains. This involves building a tech stack that can manage advanced AI applications effectively. Plans to implement AI across workforces must go hand in hand with providing data workers with tools that consistently validate confidence in AI outputs. A strong starting point is assessing whether your data preparation capabilities can meet these evolving demands.”