Why AI Hasn’t Replaced Data Analysts (According to an ex-Google Data Analyst)

AI has NOT replaced data analysts. here's proof.

October 14, 2026

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"AI has killed Data Analyst jobs" - that's what everyone keeps tell me. I'm not so sure though. I think it's changed the role, but certainly not killed it.

From everyone I'm talking to in the industry, data analysts are still needed. And still getting hired.

Here's what I'm seeing & what it means for you...

People have been saying this for over a decade

Everyone acts like "AI is going to replace data analysts" started in 2022 when ChatGPT dropped. It didn't.

One of the most famous data authors wrote a blog post in 2013 asking if the big data bubble was about to burst.

One of the most popular data blogs said in 2015 that all data scientist jobs would be automated by 2025.

Spoiler alert: neither of those came true. The data "bubble" is bigger than ever. There are more data jobs now, not fewer.

People have been saying data is dead for decades. And yet, it somehow just keeps getting bigger and more important.

So when someone tells you AI is finally going to do it this time, just know they've been wrong about this exact thing for longer than some of you have been in the workforce.

What percentage of Data Analyst roles require AI?

What would you guess it is? 50%? 70%? The answer is actually like 10% in 2026. That means 90% of the time a Data Analyst job listing doesn't even mention AI.

AI is important - now and in the future - but I think most people think it's used more in the workplace than it actually is.

Did you know that 98% of Americans don't pay for any AI service? Meaning if you do, you're likely in the Top 2% of AI users already?

That doesn't mean we should ignore AI - it's becoming more and more important. In fact, although the average is 10% in 2026. The average has doubled to 20% when looking at the last 4 months or so.

It's becoming more and more important. Learn it. Don't be afraid of it.

I made a free tool where you can track this percentage. Check it out here.

Big companies still haven't replaced Data Analysts with AI

If any company is going to get rid of Data Analysts and replace it with AI, you think it would be the big tech ones.

Well, I did an issue not too long ago into how Anthropic does internal data analytics - still requires a lot of data savvy, smart people. And they're still hiring data analysts.

Plus, in this week's episode, I reacted to a video done by ex-Google Data Scientist, Sundas Khalid. Sundas talked about how she was using AI at Google to write SQL queries and solve business problems.

But even with Google's resources and Gemini and all of it, she still had to do a ton of the work herself.

She had to decide what to analyze. She had to decide what questions to ask. She had to make sure the output was actually correct.

You'd think if any company could automate that stuff away it'd be Google. They're one of the leaders in AI. They were paying Sundas multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars to do this work.

If they haven't cracked it, your local manufacturing company or healthcare startup definitely hasn't either.

Humans are still needed.

What this actually means for you

So AI failed to replace data analysts. We're still here. This has been happening year after year.

But AI did change how the job works, and it's going to keep changing it faster than before.

The move is not to ignore AI.

The move is to get good at using it.

While also getting good at the stuff it can't do — the business context, the domain knowledge, the part where you actually know what question to ask and whether the answer makes sense.

That's our focus in The Accelerator this month - how to use AI as data analysts to get ahead.

If you can do that, you're not getting replaced. You're getting promoted.

Stay tuned to this newsletter for more data + AI deep dives.

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Why AI Hasn’t Replaced Data Analysts (According to an ex-Google Data Analyst)

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😢 I want to apologize

Last week's newsletter subject line was "How to Become a Data Analyst (Free Bootcamp)", and there was a free bootcamp, but I didn't do a good job explaining it...

The first half of the newsletter I talked about the free bootcamp...but I called it a "7-hour video" and a "video letter" - never a bootcamp. But it is - that's what I was referring to in the subject line.

The second half of the newsletter, I talked about The Accelerator - my paid bootcamp - not free.

I spend hours & thousands of dollars keeping it updating, responding to every comment, hosting live mentoring sessions, etc.

A few people thought I was trying to get them to open the email by saying, "My bootcamp is free!" when in reality, it was still paid.

That was NOT my intention.

I was trying to highlight this new free YouTube bootcamp AND highlight a separate, more support paid bootcamp.

Two separate things.

So I just want to apologize to anyone that was confused. I would never try to trick you like that. I am so sorry. In hind-sight, that wasn't very clear.

I'll do better in the future.

For clarity:

I hope at least one of those will be helpful to you!

My apologies again for the lack of clarity. Hope you forgive me.

Talk soon,

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