AI Anticipation is High - But 77% of Data Leaders Still Aren't Sure What to Do Next

Hex's 2025 State of Data Teams Report Shows That Data Leaders are Excited About AI But Struggle With Implementation, as Traditional BI Tools Fall Short

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / June 4, 2025 / Hex, the unified, AI-powered platform for analytics and data science, released its 2025 State of Data Teams Report today at Snowflake Summit 2025. The report reveals that a majority of the data leader respondents are excited about AI, but need help on how to get started.

According to the report, 77% of data leaders said that they are excited for the possibilities of AI while only three percent said that it is "a main focus for me and my team." Data leaders cited data reliability and self-serve as more immediate needs, which supports the new shift in data team status.

Data teams aren't just reporting to IT anymore; they're supporting a wide range of stakeholders - including CFOs, CEOs, and CPOs, the study found. But one pain point is clear: Business intelligence is not keeping up. Fifty-three percent of data leaders reported being dissatisfied with their current BI tool and are hungry for alternatives built for flexibility, data trust, deep insights, and AI.

"It's clear that data leaders are eager to embrace AI," said Barry McCardel, CEO and co-founder of Hex. "To do that effectively, organizations need a pragmatic approach - starting with data quality foundations, then layering in assistive AI features that augment human expertise."

That evolution is already underway. This week at Snowflake Summit, Snowflake is launching Semantic Views (private preview) - a major step toward improving data quality, governance, and reusability across organizations. As a launch partner, Hex is integrating with Snowflake Semantic Views, so joint customers can deliver consistent, context-rich insights across AI and self-service BI workflows.

"Enterprises are ready to activate their data with AI - but it has to start from a foundation of trust and consistency," said Carl Perry, Head of Analytics, Product at Snowflake. "With Snowflake Semantic Views and tools like Hex, organizations can unlock the full potential of governed AI and BI experiences for everyone from data scientists to business users."

With Snowflake Cortex AI and its growing ecosystem, data teams have new options for scaling AI in a secure environment (Hex Magic will also soon be powered by Cortex). And Snowflake's launch of Cortex AISQL this week delivers high-performance, cost-optimized AI analytics for multi-modal data through new, easy-to-use SQL functions that joint customers can use in Hex's cloud-based notebook.

With these new capabilities, data leaders can dramatically improve ROI by connecting trusted data, semantic modeling, and AI activation - all at the speed of the business.

The Essential Insights From Hex's State of Data Teams Report:

• AI is coming, but for data teams, the path forward remains unclear

  • 77% see AI as a game-changer - not just buzz

  • Yet only 3% said AI is "a main focus for me and my team"

• Self-serve isn't working; traditional BI tools aren't meeting the demand

  • 70% of data leaders still believe self-serve is worth the pursuit even after years of false starts

  • 53% of teams say their BI tool isn't cutting it - a mass exodus may be coming

• Data teams are growing in size & responsibility

  • 90% of data teams are still hiring analysts despite predicted AI disruption

  • More than 70% of data leaders have a direct line to the C-suite - a clear sign of rising strategic importance.

See the full State of Data Teams report here: hex.tech/state-of-data-teams.

About Hex:

Hex is the only unified, AI-powered workspace for data analytics. Hex is built for data teams that want to be high-ROI partners for the business but are held back by fragmented tools, siloed workflows, and an endless stream of one-off questions. Thousands of leading organizations, like Reddit, Stubhub, Notion, and Ramp, love Hex's fast and flexible platform. It allows practitioners to develop insights faster and allows more people in organizations to engage with the results, ultimately increasing the value of data and data teams.

Contact Information

Charles Schaefer
Head of Product, Customer, and Content Marketing
press@hex.tech

SOURCE: Hex Technologies