AI Research & Analysis
Produces structured research, synthesis and briefs where AI does retrieval and summarising under human judgment.
Also posted as: AI Research Analyst · Market Intelligence Analyst · Strategy Researcher · AI Insights Analyst
Definition
What this role actually is
This role turns a question into a defensible answer. AI handles retrieval, translation, extraction and first-pass synthesis across more material than a person could read; the human sets the question, checks the sources, and decides what the evidence actually supports.
The output is a document someone makes a decision from. That makes method and sourcing the deliverable as much as the conclusion — a confident brief with unverifiable citations is worse than no brief.
The line in the sand
What it is NOT
Not an AI Generalist.
A generalist solves breadth across many tasks. This role solves depth in research and synthesis for a specific decision, with method and sourcing as the deliverable.
Not "asked a model for a market report".
Unverified generated research is the failure mode this role prevents. Sources checked independently of the model are the minimum bar.
Not a data scientist.
The analysis serves a written judgment, not a model. Sophisticated technique with no decision attached is a different job.
Output
What they actually ship
- Published reports and briefs that state their method and their sources
- Competitive, market and technical landscapes built from primary material
- Synthesis across large corpora — filings, transcripts, papers, records
- Stated confidence levels, including what could not be established
- A correction record when a finding turned out to be wrong
Stack
Tool stack
Depth
The proof standard
Tier 1
Core
Published research that informed a real decision, with a stated method, traceable sources and explicit confidence limits. Has caught a model fabrication before it reached the client.
Tier 2
Working
Published briefs or reports using AI for retrieval and synthesis, with sources verified independently. Method may be informal.
Tier 3
Light
Produced researched write-ups with AI assistance. Sourcing discipline still forming.
Depth is what the builder claims. The badge is awarded separately, from the evidence — read the standard every badge is judged against.
Evidence
What a strong portfolio piece looks like
One published report or brief with its method section — what the model retrieved, what the human verified, and one thing the model got wrong that was caught. The caught error is the qualification.
Market
Market snapshot
Hired under Analyst, Strategist, Consultant and Researcher, with AI capability assumed and never specified. The market is flooded with generated research that nobody can check, so a stated method and traceable sources have become the only real differentiator.
Last updated: 2026-09-04