Can AI Replace Business Analysts? An Empirical Study of AI-Assisted Requirement Gathering and BRD Preparation

Wagdarkar, Tejas Dilip

doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i10.044

Volume 02, Issue 10

Published on: October 2026

CAN AI REPLACE BUSINESS ANALYSTS? AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF AI-ASSISTED REQUIREMENT GATHERING AND BRD PREPARATION

Tejas Dilip Wagdarkar

School of Business, Indira University, Pune

DOI:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i10.044

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Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now enabling tools to transcribe meetings, summarise conversations with stakeholders and create first drafts of the Business Requirement Document (BRD) and Functional Requirement Document (FRD), so a real question is being raised in the profession: Can AI replace the Business Analyst (BA)? This article investigates that issue in light of the current literature in the field of AI-facilitated requirement gathering and documenting, as well as a generalized case study based on the author's own experience as a Business Analyst intern where requirements were gathered directly from the client stakeholders via interviews and video conferencing and documented in the form of structured requirement documents. The research is purposefully organisation free and does not make mention of any organizational specific recruitment process, the internship serves as a medium to consider how AI could possibly be integrated into every phase of the requirement gathering lifecycle. The results point that AI has potential to significantly automate many of the "mechanical" aspects of a BA's job - recording screen-shared process steps, offering probing questions in real-time, and auto-drafting BRD/FRD sections, - while the BA role shifts toward review, validation, and emotional/relational judgement as opposed to vanishing altogether. The paper argues that AI is more a co-pilot reshaping the BA role than a full replacement of it, and it suggests a simple oversight-oriented model of how human BAs and AI tools might collaborate on gathering requirements in the future.

Keywords: business analyst, artificial intelligence, requirement gathering, business requirement document, functional requirement document, stakeholder management, emotional intelligence, automation

How to Cite this Paper

Wagdarkar, T. D. (2026). Can AI Replace Business Analysts? An Empirical Study of AI-Assisted Requirement Gathering and BRD Preparation. International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, <i>02</i>(10), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i10.044

Wagdarkar, Tejas. "Can AI Replace Business Analysts? An Empirical Study of AI-Assisted Requirement Gathering and BRD Preparation." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, vol. 02, no. 10, 2026, pp. 1-9. doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i10.044.

Wagdarkar, Tejas. "Can AI Replace Business Analysts? An Empirical Study of AI-Assisted Requirement Gathering and BRD Preparation." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management 02, no. 10 (2026): 1-9. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i10.044.

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•Published on: Oct 08 2026

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