Analysts are Doomed! - A Short History of a 30-Year Trope
Why each "analysts are doomed" prediction follows the same script — and fails every time
AR Intelligence Snapshot
"Analysts are doomed!"
If you've been in the tech industry for more than a few years, you've probably heard some variation of this dramatic declaration. Just last month (June 18, 2025), a founder of a new analyst firm posted on LinkedIn that
“Tectonic shifts such as AI, the influence of social media, and the demise of the paywalled model are upending a decades-old industry in near real-time.” (Note 1)
And it’s not just this quote, there are many others such as this one from a Chief Innovation Officer & Co-founder of a successful SaaS monetization platform vendor:
“A day of reckoning is coming for the software analyst community. Instead of paying exorbitant fees and enduring vendor sales pitches, companies researching business software can simply ask GenAI engines… The weight third-party analyst endorsement used to carry will also wane.” (Note 2)
Both these opinions sound compelling – until you realize it's the same trope we've heard for decades. The details change, but the core prediction remains the same: analysts are toast.
Spoiler alert: they’re not
Dig Deeper
How does the doom narrative work?
What have been the major waves of "disruption" over 30 years?
Why does the AI threat follow the same failed script?
What should AR professionals, vendors, and analyst firms do now?