Alteryx on Wednesday introduced Aidin Copilot, an AI assistant aimed at helping customers develop analytical workflows more efficiently.
Alteryx announced the new tool during Inspire 2024, the vendor's user conference in Las Vegas.
Aidin, a feature set that combines a vendor's existing AI capabilities with generative AI, was first announced by Alteryx in May 2023. At the time, Aidin included features such as Magic Document, which automatically surfaces insights, and Workflow Summary, which automatically generates natural language summaries. Metadata and developer workflow integration, and OpenAI connectors that enable customers to develop customized generative AI models trained on their own data.
Additionally, given concerns about the combination of proprietary data and large-scale language models (LLMs), Aidin now includes governance features designed to protect proprietary data.
Now, Alteryx is adding an AI assistant to its suite.
Irvine, California-based Alteryx is a data management and analytics vendor with a platform that automates many of the data preparation processes.
In December, the previously independent vendor agreed to be acquired by a private equity firm for $4.4 billion. The sale, which was completed in March, comes after modest revenue growth through the first three quarters of 2023 and a slow evolution to the cloud leading to an executive shake-up in 2022.
Assisted by AI
Aidin Copilot, currently in preview, is designed to simplify the use of Alteryx tools and increase efficiency for data engineers and architects. Additionally, AI assistants have the potential to make tools accessible to less technically skilled users.
The vendor declined to provide a timeline for general availability of the AI assistant.
Once available, Aidin Copilot will become part of Alteryx Designer, the vendor's primary tool for preparing data for analysis. The move is important for Alteryx users, said Mike Leone, an analyst in TechTarget's enterprise strategy group.
Alteryx provides a copilot experience focused on backend data workflows that ultimately enable analytics and data exploration. Stakeholders such as data engineers and data architects are overburdened and need the efficiency gains that GenAI promises.
mike leoneEnterprise Strategy Group Analyst
Data engineers and data architects in particular can benefit from AI assistants, he said.
“Alteryx offers a copilot experience that focuses on backend data workflows that ultimately enable analytics and data exploration,” said Leone. “Stakeholders such as data engineers and data architects are overburdened and need the efficiency improvements that GenAI promises.”
Donald Farmer, founder and president of TreeHive Strategy, similarly said that Aidin Copilot is an important new tool for Alteryx users.
Like many data management and analytics platforms, the Alteryx suite is complex. Although vendors have made ease of use a priority in product development in recent years, managing and preparing data using Alteryx's tools still requires experience and expertise. As a result, an AI-powered assistant that simplifies your use of Designer could be a powerful addition.
“Aidin Copilot is an attempt to simplify some processes for users, so the integration with the Alteryx Designer canvas is a good move,” Farmer said.
Once generally available, Alteryx's AI Assistant is designed to provide the following capabilities:
Placing tools directly on the designer canvas increases efficiency, reducing the time users spend on manual configuration and preparing data for analysis.
A chat feature that allows users to ask questions about creating analytical workflows in Designer and receive answers that provide best practices.
Governance is built on Alteryx's Responsible AI principles to protect both end users and the organization itself as more employees engage with data.
real world
Aidin Copilot is intended to help Alteryx customers navigate Designer, but the AI assistant is more about enabling new users than helping those already using the platform. Farmer said the focus is on
And that's likely the right approach for Alteryx to take with its AI assistant, he continued.
Each vendor's generated AI assistant is different. Some are narrower in scope, such as the one introduced by DBT Labs on his May 14th. It automatically provides workflow documentation and generates tests to save engineers time during the development process. Other features in Tableau, such as CoPilot, are broader, providing conversational capabilities aimed at increasing efficiency for existing users as well as enabling new users to query and analyze data.
Alteryx says Aidin Copilot's chat feature provides best practices to guide users as they create workflows in Designer, but Farmer says it's more of a guide to using Designer than a data analysis tool. pointed out. In theory, Designer will be available to some new users in your organization, but it is more specifically designed to increase efficiency for existing users.
“When users are told they can chat with Aidin Copilot, the answer is not an analytical answer to a data question,” Farmer said. “This is…a tool for business users, not data engineers and analysts.”
7 benefits of generative AI for businesses.
On the other hand, focusing on efficiency over adding new users is consistent with the reality of AI assistants to date, he continued. Although some assistants claim that data literacy promises to reduce the need for training, training is still required to get the most out of working with data, regardless of what tools are available to users. Is required.
“Feedback shows that AI assistants are making real strides in simplifying complex tools and improving efficiency,” Farmer said. “But there's also a problem: users still need training to get the most out of these tools. Despite the hype, these tools don't offer instant solutions. Alteryx We are more transparent about this than some companies.” [other vendors]. ”
As a result, Alteryx may seem to offer less with Aidin Copilot than other vendors offer with their AI assistants, but they are focused on embedding their AI assistants into Designer to improve efficiency. Alteryx's approach is sound.
Leone similarly said Alteryx is focused on helping data professionals address real needs.
Enabling new users may be fancier than offloading existing data workers, but the ones that most need the help that generative AI can provide are those with increasing volumes and more complex forms. Engineers and architects who work with data.
“Most vendors are focused on enabling more businesses to ask questions about their data, but what seems to be missing is making the right data available to analytics and business intelligence tools. It's the underlying workflow that makes it so,” Leone said.
I'm looking forward to
As Alteryx develops its generative AI capabilities, customer feedback is helping shape the vendor's roadmap, said Asa Willock, vice president and general manager of AI and machine learning at Alteryx.
Eventually, vendors plan to embed AI capabilities throughout the platform, similar to how Aidin Copilot is built into Designer.
“Our goal is to make the Alteryx portfolio powerful, easy to use, and efficient to help our customers do their jobs,” said Whillock. “This is reflected in our AI-embedded capabilities, ensuring that our customers can use our products in a controlled and trusted manner, while ensuring appropriate guardrails.”
Additionally, he continued, Alteryx plans to offer customers a choice of LLMs for use with enterprise data.
Vendors like Databricks and Snowflake have already built environments for customers to develop and fine-tune language models. This includes integration with a variety of LLMs to allow users to decide what best suits their needs, as well as training the model using your own data so that the model can make better business decisions. This includes being able to inform decisions.
Willock said Alteryx hopes to follow suit.
“We are taking steps to enable our customers to use LLM in enterprise environments,” he said.
Meanwhile, Farmer suggested that it would be a good idea for Alteryx to continue developing Aidin Copilot to further help employees who aren't already using the platform. Over time, vendors' generative AI capabilities will continue to evolve as AI assistants enable business users to responsibly interact with advanced features.
Additionally, Farmer said geospatial analytics, once a major focus for Alteryx, is now just one part of its offering, and an area where vendors can apply AI as they develop new tools. It is said that there is.
“We look forward to seeing Alteryx demonstrate its natural strengths in geospatial analysis,” he said. “AI could be of great help. [with geospatial analysis] This is because many of the principles and practices are unfamiliar to non-specialist analysts who need to integrate and manipulate geospatial data. ”
Eric Avidon is a senior news writer for TechTarget Editorial and a journalist with over 25 years of experience. He is responsible for analysis and data management.
