A question routinely arises as the AI onslaught gathers pace: Just what becomes of, if not the lonely hearted, then the BI systems, practices and people which have for so long served businesses so well?
As is the case with many AI use cases, it isn’t a matter of one replacing the other, but instead one augmenting the other. In short, that probably means more and easier BI for more people.
There’s little question not just around the advancement of AI (there was, for example, a stark improvement in the quality and performance of third-generation large language models released in February 2025, over the second-gen ones from 2024), but the adoption. As recently as October 2025, ChatGPT reported use by 10% of the world’s population, with US academic researchers stating the pace of adoption has no precedent.
That’s right. Rarely does anything hove into the common consciousness which can be compared with the transformative impact of the internet. Alone among even the most astonishing developments of the past three decades, AI might be it.
Even if AI combines with BI, expertise isn’t going out of fashion any time soon.
Just as the internet swept aside or forever changed all manner of business models – from physical newspapers, video stores, recorded music, landline phones, encyclopaedias and who knows what else – so too AI is devouring all in its path. Could BI be on the menu?
At this juncture, it’s worth noting another potential parallel. While the internet did revolutionise everything, it wasn’t smooth sailing. Rapid adoption inflated then saw the burst of the enormous dotcom bubble. Gartner’s hype cycle, first introduced in 1995, was there. And it’s here, putting generative AI on the slippery downhill towards the trough of disillusionment.
Speaking off the record at a recent industry event, an IBM executive pointed out that for Big Blue – the BI interests of which are centred in its Planning Analytics software – AI and BI are considered distinct disciplines. In fact, the AI person (a doctor in her field) knew very little about BI, but a lot about AI.
It’s worth revisiting the comments made by Nedgroup Investments BI manager Jay Naidoo in February. When ITWeb asked if AI’s rise threatens BI, his response was both unequivocal, and remains as relevant then as it is now. “Rather than rendering BI obsolete, AI acts as a force multiplier, accelerating the analytical processes that BI teams undertake.”
Anyone who has used BI dashboards knows that, like many corporate tasks, it’s easier said than done. That’s why millions of people are involved in the BI industry – because everything from ETL, to data warehousing, to analysis itself involves multiple specialisations.
At least some of those activities, all crucial to BI, enable AI too. Naidoo pointed to the concept of generative BI, drawing on the structured data models already in place thanks to decades of applied expertise, and making data analysis accessible to anyone who needs it.
Sounds perfect, until it isn’t. Multiple cases of ‘AI misuse’, and the realisation that AI large language models can be as duplicitous as their human overlords (though probably lacking any moral dimension), means a utopia of spoken word on-demand analysis has a few serpents lurking. Hallucinations and errors of fact immediately raise the spectre of trust.
And trust was often the lacking dimension which saw the spreadsheets replaced with the, if not inviolable, then far more robust BI systems. Another way of saying this is that even if AI combines with BI, expertise isn’t going out of fashion any time soon.
More than that, Naidoo told ITWeb that even as AI-driven tools lower the technical barriers to entry, multidimensional thinking won’t soon replace any professionals. “The ability to interpret data contextually, ask the right questions and ensure data quality remain uniquely human capabilities,” he said. “This expertise makes BI practitioners indispensable in an AI-enhanced landscape, as they provide the necessary oversight to ensure AI-driven insights are both accurate and actionable.”
* Donovan Jackson is a seasoned technology writer, having written on the field for nearly three decades.
Share