LLM/Agent-as-Data-Analyst: A Survey

Abstract: LLM and agent techniques for data analysis (a.k.a LLM/Agent-as-Data-Analyst) have demonstrated substantial impact in both academica and industry. In comparison with traditional rule or small-model based approaches, (agentic) LLMs enable complex data understanding, natural language interfaces, semantic analysis functions, and autonomous pipeline orchestration. The technical evolution further distills five key design goals for intelligent data analysis agents, namely semantic-aware design, modality-hybrid integration, autonomous pipelines, tool-augmented workflows, and support for open-world tasks. From a modality perspective, we review LLM-based techniques for (i) structured data (e.g., table question answering for relational data and NL2GQL for graph data), (ii) semi-structured data (e.g., markup languages understanding and semi-structured table modeling), (iii) unstructured data (e.g., chart understanding, document understanding, programming languages vulnerable detection), and (iv) heterogeneous data (e.g., data retrieval and modality alignment for data lakes). Finally, we outline the remaining challenges and propose several insights and practical directions for advancing LLM/Agent-powered data analysis.