With many companies providing employees access to tools like ChatGPT Plus, tasks such as data analysis, strategy brainstorming, and statistical reviews are now just a few clicks away. AI appears to be a cost-effective, high-performing employee. Will marketing data analysts become obsolete? Not quite. Despite AI’s capabilities, there are three critical areas where it falls short of replacing human analysts.

1. Interacting with Data Warehouses

Marketing analysts spend much of their day querying data warehouses, writing complex SQL queries to explore specific schemas and joining tables to uncover relevant data cuts. This process, known as exploratory analysis, requires understanding the context and meaning of each column. Current AI tools cannot directly connect to data warehouses or interpret column metadata autonomously. They rely on users to upload datasets with explicit instructions, and even then, AI often makes basic errors in data processing or calculations.

2. Aligning with Business Context

Unlike human analysts, AI doesn’t participate in daily scrums, team meetings, or proactively monitor company websites for updates. Without user-provided context, AI’s outputs are often too generic to address specific business needs. For example, AI might not grasp why a company continues investing in SEM despite a MMM readout showing a ROAS of only 30 cents. Human analysts bridge this gap by aligning data insights with strategic priorities and operational realities.

3. Proactiveness

A key strength of marketing data analysts is their ability to connect marketers, engineers, and BI teams, driving conversations that lead to actionable insights. AI doesn’t proactively identify opportunities or propose solutions. It won’t suggest, “hey, your homepage bounce rate is high, let’s AB test swapping modules to see if it improves,” or “your sponsorship campaigns look promising in the MMM, let’s run an incrementality test to validate scaling up.” Human analysts take the lead in spotting trends and recommending next steps.

Conclusion

While AI is a powerful tool, it cannot replace a skilled marketing data analyst. A good analyst leverages AI to enhance efficiency but relies on their expertise to interact with data warehouses, align insights with business goals, and proactively drive impact. Far from making analysts obsolete, AI empowers them to deliver greater value.