June 19th, 2025
Top AI Business Analytics Platforms That Anyone Can Use
By Simon Avila · 5 min read
The business intelligence landscape has reached a critical inflection point.
A study by MIT Sloan Management Review revealed that companies that use data analytics to guide decision-making are 5% more productive and 6% more profitable [1]. Yet, with self-service business analytics, the percentage of non-IT professionals able to fulfill their own BI requirements slowly increased to about 20%. In other words, out of all enterprise decision-makers who could be using analytical applications and platforms, only 20% do so today.
This massive gap between potential and reality represents both the greatest challenge and opportunity in business intelligence today. The emergence of AI-powered platforms designed specifically for non-technical users is finally beginning to bridge this divide.
The $116 Billion Self-Service Analytics Revolution
The global business intelligence (BI) market size was valued at USD 30.1 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow from USD 36.82 billion in 2025 to reach USD 116.25 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 14.98% during the forecast period (2025-2033) [1]. This explosive growth is driven by organizations seeking to leverage insights to engage in informed decision-making and become data-driven across their processes. However, the volume and breadth of data continue to impact access to quality insights and collaboration [2].
According to IDC research, "The fusion of AI/ML and GenAI within BIA software will continue to evolve the market and revolutionize how organizations harness data for decision-making, pushing the boundaries of insight generation, self-service analytics, and data culture" [3].
The Industry's Top Platforms for Non-Technical Users
Industry analysts have identified the platforms leading this transformation. Based on comprehensive market analysis and user adoption data, here are the top AI-powered business analytics platforms that anyone can use effectively.
1. Julius - The Conversational Analytics Pioneer
Julius represents the breakthrough approach to business intelligence that the industry has been waiting for. Unlike traditional platforms that require extensive training and technical knowledge, Julius leverages advanced conversational AI to make sophisticated data analysis as intuitive as having a conversation.
Why Julius Leads the Market
The platform addresses the fundamental challenge identified by Forrester: getting analytics capabilities to the 80% of business users who currently can't effectively use traditional BI tools. Julius achieves this through three core innovations:
Technical Superiority
What sets Julius apart is its multi-model approach to AI. The platform combines multiple advanced language models to overcome individual limitations, ensuring more accurate and reliable analytical insights. This technical architecture enables Julius to handle complex analytical workflows that single-model systems struggle with.
The platform also excels in data preparation and cleaning—typically the most time-consuming aspect of analysis. Users can upload messy, real-world datasets, and Julius automatically handles formatting, identifies data quality issues, and prepares the data for analysis.
Real-World Impact
Organizations using Julius report dramatic improvements in analytical productivity. Business users who previously waited weeks for IT-generated reports now complete sophisticated analyses in minutes. This democratization of analytics enables faster decision-making across all organizational levels.
Explore Julius's advanced capabilities and start your free trial at julius.ai
2. Traditional Enterprise Platforms Adapting to the AI Era
While established platforms are adding AI features, they fundamentally remain complex tools designed for technical users. However, several have made significant strides in improving accessibility for business users.
Microsoft Power BI - Enterprise Integration
Power BI benefits from deep integration with Microsoft's ecosystem, making it attractive for organizations already using Microsoft tools. The platform has added natural language querying capabilities, though these remain limited compared to purpose-built conversational platforms like Julius.
Tableau - Visualization Excellence
Tableau continues to lead in data visualization capabilities, offering sophisticated charting and dashboard creation tools. Recent additions include AI-powered insights and guided analytics.
Looker (Google Cloud) - Cloud-Native Architecture
Google's Looker platform emphasizes semantic modeling and has introduced conversational analytics features powered by Google's AI capabilities.
The Forrester Perspective on BI Evolution
Forrester's research shows that advanced insights-driven businesses were 8.5 times more likely to report at least 20% revenue growth in 2021 [4]. However, BI is alive, but its adoption needs some help. Learn the three reasons why businesses struggle to get more mileage from their business intelligence applications [4].
Forrester's analysis reveals that enterprise business intelligence (BI) continues to be the last mile to insights-driven business capabilities. BI applications are where business users consume data and turn it into actionable insights and decisions [5].
Key Market Trends Driving Platform Selection
AI Integration is Non-Negotiable
BI solutions have expanded from being simple reporting tools to data analytics platforms with AI, machine learning, and data automation towards predictive insight provision. These tools enable firms to optimize business operations, identify new opportunities, and enhance decision processes [1].
Organizations are specifically looking for platforms that can leverage language models that surface game-changing trends from unstructured sources. Companies investing now in unstructured pipelines will gain a competitive edge. They'll tap into a wider range of customer insights through analytics [6].
Self-Service Capabilities Define Success
Factors such as the surge in data volumes, the limitations of spreadsheets, complex data scenarios, regulatory compliance requirements, and the increased need for self-service analytics have been instrumental in driving growth [7].
The market is specifically demanding platforms that enable streamlining business intelligence tasks, making them more accessible for users across various industries [1].
Conversational Interfaces are the Future
Think of this as a BI chatbot. We predict this approach will empower another 10% of business users to get their own data/analytics questions answered. However, truly effective conversational analytics require more than just chatbot capabilities—they need the sophisticated AI reasoning that platforms like Julius provide.
Platform Comparison: Technical Capabilities
Choosing the Right Platform for Your Organization
For Maximum User Adoption
Organizations prioritizing broad user adoption across non-technical teams should focus on conversational platforms like Julius that eliminate traditional barriers to analytics adoption.
For Existing Microsoft Environments
Companies heavily invested in Microsoft's ecosystem may benefit from Power BI's integration advantages, though they should expect significant training requirements.
For Specialized Visualization Needs
Teams requiring highly sophisticated custom visualizations should evaluate Tableau while understanding the complexity and training requirements involved.
For Google Cloud Organizations
Companies using Google Cloud infrastructure should consider Looker's native integration capabilities.
The Future of Accessible Business Intelligence
IDC predicts that, "by 2027, enterprise intelligence leaders will replace their homegrown decisioning solutions with those built on commercial decision intelligence platforms, accelerating their decision velocity by 2x" [8].
The market is clearly moving toward platforms that prioritize user experience and accessibility. Vendors are extremely concerned with ease of use within this space, and rightly so, as many customers highlighted the need for direct support from the vendor or their patterns in decision design [8].
Organizations that embrace truly user-friendly platforms will achieve competitive advantages through:
• Faster Decision-Making: Eliminating bottlenecks between questions and insights
• Broader Analytics Adoption: Enabling all employees to become data-driven
• Reduced IT Burden: Freeing technical teams to focus on strategic initiatives
• Improved Data Literacy: Making analytics accessible builds organizational capability
The Conversational Analytics Advantage
The most successful organizations in 2025 and beyond will be those that democratize analytics through intuitive, conversational interfaces. Platforms like Julius represent the future of business intelligence where sophisticated analysis is available to anyone who can ask a question, regardless of their technical background.
The choice is clear: organizations can continue struggling with traditional platforms that serve only 20% of their potential users, or they can embrace the new generation of AI-powered platforms designed for universal accessibility.
