Every source behind the read

47 sources in Leaders and teams rolling it out, with product documentation Showing all 80 sources

1. Negative

   Jay Sobel, Data Platform Engineer at Ramp

   How Ramp's internal AI agents crossed a million sessionsTalk recap, dbt Labs blog (dbt Summit 2026)

   Ramp's data platform team built WaveDash, where every dashboard is a SQL file in a repo that renders to Markdown. Agents can read and edit it the way engineers do, and Ramp is actively moving off Looker onto it.

   "WaveDash, the newest piece, is a dashboarding tool where every dashboard is a SQL file living in a repo and rendering to Markdown, so agents can read and edit dashboards the same way engineers do; Ramp is actively moving off Looker onto it…"

   Published Oct 26, 2026Ramp's data platform team, which built the WaveDash dashboard tool and is moving off Looker onto it

   Counts toward

   • Overall signal
   • Gemini & AI Agents: Mixed or negative

   Published on

   Videos

   Who

   Department

   Evidence

   Reported

   Applies to

   Current

   Observed on

   WaveDash dashboards as SQL files in a repo, Ramp's internal agents

2. Positive

   Michael Murillo, Looker & BI Engineer at Astrafy

   A Hands-On Guide to Looker Data Apps: Looker's New AI-Assisted Way of Building DashboardsCompany blog post, Astrafy

   Murillo built a funnel dashboard for Astrafy's marketing team by describing it to a coding agent through Looker Data Apps without naming any fields, because the agent read the documented LookML model. He reports that results depend on how well the model is documented, and that going from a paragraph to a branded dashboard in minutes surprised him.

   "…going from a paragraph to a branded, responsive dashboard in some minutes is something I wouldn’t have believed a couple of years ago…"

   Published Oct 19, 2026Astrafy, a Google Cloud data consultancy, building a marketing dashboard for its own marketing team with Looker Data Apps

   Not counted

   Its author works at Astrafy, a Google Cloud partner consultancy with a Looker practice. Kept in the record; it takes part in no figure.

   Published on

   Reviews & Blogs

   Who

   Department

   Evidence

   Reported

   Applies to

   Current

   Observed on

   Looker Data Apps with a coding agent, Looker MCP, a LookML marketing model

3. Negative

   David Lequin, data platform engineer

   Can we replace a $150k Looker with a bucket of HTML files?Personal blog post, david.lequin.dev

   A side project that hosts Claude-written dashboards on Snowflake permissions cost the team about US$8,300 over eight months. It now has as many weekly users as Looker, Looker use fell by a third, and the author finds fixed Looker tiles ugly next to free-form pages.

   Published Oct 14, 2026self-described: Three-person data platform team at a company of about 500 people, Looker at roughly 300 seats

   Counts toward

   • Overall signal
   • Cost: Raised as a concern
   • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern

   Published on

   Reviews & Blogs

   Who

   Department

   Evidence

   Measured

   Applies to

   Current

   Observed on

   Looker beside Claude-built HTML dashboards on Snowflake

4. Mixed

   Odd_Employer_7629, Reddit poster in r/Looker

   Post: Getting Looker data into Excel is way harder than it should beReddit post

   Rolling out Looker on BigQuery to finance teams that live in Excel, the poster finds downloads and the Open SQL Interface fall short of the pick-fields-and-refresh experience they had with SAP.

   Published Oct 7, 2026self-described: Rolling out Looker (Google Cloud core) on BigQuery to finance and controlling

   Counts toward

   • Overall signal
   • Self-Serve Exploration: Mixed or negative
   • Can business users serve themselves in Looker?: Analysts carry it

   Published on

   Data Communities

   Who

   Organization-wide

   Evidence

   Reported

   Applies to

   Current

   Observed on

   Looker (Google Cloud core), Open SQL Interface

5. Negative

   Ian Macomber, data team lead at Ramp

   The Shape and Feel of the Post-AI Data StackPersonal blog essay, Ian Macomber

   Macomber reports that he has spent a regrettable share of the last five years in Looker. He argues that teams forced into a clunky UI in 2026 will quit, so data tools must be operable by agents. Before AI, new dashboards waited on dbt models and LookML pull requests from the data team.

   "I’ve spent a regrettable meaningful fraction of the last five years in Looker…"

   Published Aug 30, 2026Ramp's data team, which builds agent tooling for the company after years of working in Looker

   Counts toward

   • Overall signal
   • Ease of Use: Mixed or negative
   • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern

   Published on

   Reviews & Blogs

   Who

   IT & leadership

   Evidence

   Reported

   Applies to

   Current

6. Negative

   MainPressure4304, Reddit poster in r/Looker

   Post: How to speed up filtering for lookml dashboards and have the looker pull data once per day instead of every time it opens?Reddit post

   After converting the company's Tableau dashboards to LookML dashboards, IT says they consume too much compute and users find filter changes slow.

   Published Aug 11, 2026self-described: BI analyst who converted company Tableau dashboards to LookML

   Counts toward

   • Overall signal
   • Cost: Raised as a concern
   • Query Speed & Load: Raised as a concern

   Published on

   Data Communities

   Who

   Department

   Evidence

   Reported

   Applies to

   Current

7. Mixed

   ash0550, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

   Comment on: How to speed up filtering for lookml dashboards and have the looker pull data once per day instead of every time it opens?Reddit comment

   A filter workaround has worked well for four years, but the team is now migrating away from Looker for various other issues.

   Published Aug 11, 2026self-described: Four years of Looker, team migrating away

   Counts toward

   • Overall signal
   • Product Pace & Support: Raised as a concern

   Published on

   Data Communities

   Who

   Department

   Evidence

   Reported

   Applies to

   Current

8. Negative

   Ian Macomber, data team lead at Ramp

   The scarce resource is consensus (Ian Macomber)Podcast episode show notes, The Analytics Engineering Podcast

   Quick questions such as how many dentists use Ramp went unasked because pulling them in Looker took too long to be worth it. After Ramp's data agent launched, questions asked per day rose about 10x, then about 50x within six months.

   "They could have pulled it in Looker, but it would have taken too long and it was not worth the bother…"

   Published Jul 16, 2026Ramp's data team, after launching its Ramp Research data agent in Slack

   Counts toward

   • Overall signal
   • Self-Serve Exploration: Mixed or negative

   Published on

   Videos

   Who

   IT & leadership

   Evidence

   Measured

   Applies to

   Current

   Observed on

   Ramp Research Slack agent alongside Looker

9. Mixed

   No-Somewhere-9675, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

   Comment on: Looker-managed MCP server <> Claude Web Connector failing - anyone got this working?Reddit comment

   Facing the same issue, the commenter says Google's initial MCP pre-GA left some instances stuck until Google fixed them, and theirs then worked without changes.

   Published Jun 30, 2026self-described: Organization connecting the Looker MCP pre-GA

   Counts toward

   • Overall signal
   • Gemini & AI Agents: Mixed or negative

   Published on

   Data Communities

   Who

   Department

   Evidence

   Reported

   Applies to

   Current

   Observed on

   Looker-managed MCP server (pre-GA)

10. Mixed

    Hey-Cloud0312, Reddit poster in r/Looker

    Post: Looker-managed MCP server <> Claude Web Connector failing - anyone got this working?Reddit post

    The Looker-managed MCP server pre-GA authorized users but failed to connect to Claude's web connector, and the poster later confirmed a fix from Google worked.

    Published Jun 17, 2026self-described: Connecting the Looker-managed MCP server to Claude at org level

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Gemini & AI Agents: Mixed or negative

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

    Observed on

    Looker-managed MCP server (pre-GA)

11. Negative

    LateButHereAnyHow, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker vs power bi, how difficult is lookML?Reddit comment

    After three years on Looker serving 67 client companies, the team moved to Sigma at similar cost, finding Looker manual, expensive for the brand, and hard to get support for.

    Published Apr 16, 2026self-described: Three years of Looker for health data across 67 client companies, now on Sigma

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Cost: Raised as a concern
    • Product Pace & Support: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

12. Negative

    Wise_Mango_5887, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker vs power bi, how difficult is lookML?Reddit comment

    The commenter's team is moving from Power BI to Looker, and the license cost looked shocking on paper compared with Power BI.

    Published Apr 14, 2026self-described: Team moving from Power BI to Looker

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Cost: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

13. No opinion stated

    mkcuadros, software engineer at Amazon Music

    Looker feature request: support post-aggregation filtering (HAVING) for set intersection queriesGitHub issue on googleapis/mcp-toolbox

    The team's agent cannot ask Looker for users who consumed both Music and Podcasts, because Looker filters rows and returns a union. The agent now pulls Looker's SQL and rewrites it with GROUP BY and HAVING before running it.

    Published Apr 7, 2026self-described: Team agent answering audience questions through Looker's MCP tools

    Counts toward

    • Gemini & AI Agents: Mixed or negative

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

    Observed on

    Looker query and query_sql tools in MCP Toolbox

14. Positive

    Opening_Plane2460, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker vs power bi, how difficult is lookML?Reddit comment

    Having used Power BI, Tableau, and Qlik, the commenter likes Looker: full control of layered data split by user groups, easier validation than DAX, and a manageable learning curve with AI help.

    Published Mar 17, 2026self-described: Large organization that just moved to Looker

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Gemini & AI Agents: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Discussed without concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

15. No opinion stated

    Roanny Lamas, data engineer at Viajes El Corte Inglés

    Splitting Looker prebuilt into looker + looker-dev breaks dev_mode isolationGitHub issue on googleapis/mcp-toolbox

    After the upgrade to MCP Toolbox 0.28.0, an agent that creates LookML in development mode cannot query the views it just built. The query tools and the development tools open separate Looker API sessions.

    Published Mar 3, 2026self-described: ADK agent that writes, validates, and queries LookML through MCP Toolbox

    Counts toward

    • Gemini & AI Agents: Mixed or negative

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

    Observed on

    MCP Toolbox 0.28.0 Looker and Looker dev tools

16. Negative

    VariationSimilar3354, Reddit poster in r/Looker

    Post: Looker vs power bi, how difficult is lookML?Reddit post

    The commenter's organization is moving from Power BI on Fabric to Looker on a GCP architect's advice, and the poster finds the LookML documentation hard to follow.

    Published Feb 17, 2026self-described: Organization moving from Power BI on Fabric to Looker

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

17. Mixed

    Alok K., Software Engineer at a SaaS company (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Excellent LookML Governance and Seamless Embedded AnalyticsG2 review

    A SaaS engineer embeds Looker analytics for customers with metrics defined once in LookML, but finds visuals weaker than Tableau and setup hard without a data engineer.

    Published Jan 24, 2026self-described: Small SaaS business (50 or fewer employees), analytics embedded for customers on PostgreSQL on AWS

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Small team

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

18. Mixed

    Nataporn C., IT Support (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Consistent Company-Wide Metrics with LookML and Easy AI-Powered Data QueriesG2 review

    The reviewer credits LookML with company-wide consistent metrics and natural-language queries for non-technical staff, and calls the price and the LookML learning curve a significant investment.

    Published Jan 15, 2026self-described: Mid-market IT services company (51 to 1,000 employees)

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Gemini & AI Agents: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Cost: Raised as a concern
    • One definition per metric

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Organization-wide

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

19. Positive

    Mark Rittman, CEO at Rittman Analytics

    Claude Meets Looker: Building Smarter, Connected Analytics with Google's MCP ToolboxCompany blog post, Rittman Analytics

    Connected to the company's own Looker instance through MCP Toolbox, Claude found the right Explore fields and answered marketing funnel questions well. Rittman calls it self-service BI and credits a semantic layer annotated for AI use. Used from an MCP client, the Looker connector had no authentication, so it needs an added OAuth layer on Cloud Run or a local install.

    "…our semantic layer is pretty-well structured and annotated with AI usage in-mind…"

    Published Dec 8, 2025Rittman Analytics connecting Claude to its own Looker semantic layer through Google's MCP Toolbox

    Not counted

    Its author runs Rittman Analytics, an authorised Google Cloud delivery partner. Kept in the record; it takes part in no figure.

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    IT & leadership

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

    Observed on

    Claude Desktop and Claude Team connected to Looker through the MCP Toolbox Looker server, with HubSpot and Google Drive connectors

20. Negative

    Master-Arm1220, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: If you would need to choose a BI tool, would you choose Looker?Reddit comment

    Looker governs metrics well, but only a few people could safely change LookML, which became a bottleneck, so the company moved to Domo for business-user dashboards.

    Published Nov 30, 2025self-described: Company that moved from Looker to Domo

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Can business users serve themselves in Looker?: Analysts carry it

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

21. Mixed

    Small_Sir_1641, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: If you would need to choose a BI tool, would you choose Looker?Reddit comment

    After the commenter introduced Looker it took a year to gain buy-in. The commenter loves the LookML semantic layer but would put Power BI on top for Excel-centric users. Has used the Power BI connector for Looker.

    Published Nov 22, 2025self-described: Introduced Looker at their company

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Mixed or negative

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    IT & leadership

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

22. Positive

    r8ings, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: If you would need to choose a BI tool, would you choose Looker?Reddit comment

    On Google Workspace, users build auto-refreshing pivot tables from Looker models in Google Sheets, and anyone in the Workspace can view the result without a Looker license.

    Published Nov 19, 2025self-described: Company on Google Workspace and Looker

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • Cost: Discussed without concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

23. Positive

    Anonymous reviewer on G2 at a small business

    G2 review: Putting our analytics under one roof - Looker helped us bake it, not just stir it.G2 review

    Modeling metrics once in LookML ended arguments about which report is right, and product and marketing staff build their own dashboards, though LookML views, Explores, and joins still needed training.

    Published Nov 15, 2025self-described: Small business (50 or fewer employees); engineers, product leads, and content staff share one model

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • One definition per metric
    • Can business users serve themselves in Looker?: Business users self-serve

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

24. Positive

    Sidath P., Software Engineer (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Powerful Data Visualization and Analytics PlatformG2 review

    The reviewer says LookML keeps metric definitions consistent and business users explore live dashboards without waiting on analysts, but large datasets load slowly and the price is high for small companies.

    Published Sep 24, 2025self-described: Small business (50 or fewer employees), embedded dashboards

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Cost: Raised as a concern
    • Query Speed & Load: Raised as a concern
    • One definition per metric
    • Fewer ad hoc requests

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Small team

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

25. Positive

    Mark Rittman, CEO at Rittman Analytics

    How Rittman Analytics Does Financial Analytics using Looker, Fivetran and Google BigQueryCompany blog post, Rittman Analytics

    Rittman Analytics runs its finance dashboard in Looker, with LookML measures that derive revenue and period-over-period comparisons from one P&L table. Rittman values that revenue is defined once across the company, and gives Looker's Conversational Analytics agent instructions built from the dashboard's LookML so it does not make up its own rules.

    "The big advantage of putting all your financial analytics data sources and reporting into Looker is the single version of the truth it gives your team…"

    Published Sep 7, 2025Rittman Analytics, a Google Cloud partner consultancy that runs its own finance reporting on Looker over BigQuery

    Not counted

    Its author runs Rittman Analytics, an authorised Google Cloud delivery partner. Kept in the record; it takes part in no figure.

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    IT & leadership

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

    Observed on

    Looker finance dashboard on a Xero P&L model in BigQuery, LookML period-over-period measures, Connected Sheets, Conversational Analytics agent

26. Positive

    Zeeshan K., Founder, CEO, and Lead Data Scientist (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Makes Data Exploration & Visualization Surprisingly EasyG2 review

    A founder defines reusable logic once in LookML and queries live databases without moving data, but finds LookML steep for less technical staff and the price high for a small company.

    Published Jul 25, 2025self-described: Small business (50 or fewer employees)

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • Live Warehouse Queries: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Cost: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    IT & leadership

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

27. Mixed

    Andy M., Business Intelligence Architect (G2 reviewer, unprompted by the vendor)

    G2 review: A full-featured BI tool with an integrated semantic layer that makes self-service easierG2 review

    A BI architect says the semantic layer lets power users self-serve without hiring an analyst, but Looker costs more than almost any SaaS rival and cannot join data across databases.

    Published Jun 27, 2025self-described: Mid-market company (51 to 1,000 employees) with one BI architect and no BI analyst

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • Live Warehouse Queries: Mixed or negative
    • Cost: Raised as a concern
    • Fewer ad hoc requests

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

28. Positive

    Shahrukh Q., Senior Database Engineer (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Looker Review are 4 years of UsageG2 review

    After four years and an enterprise reporting system built on Looker, a database engineer says well-built Explores make it the best tool for executive reporting. A wrong initial architecture is tedious to undo.

    Published Jun 6, 2025self-described: Enterprise company (more than 1,000 employees), enterprise reporting system built in Looker over four years

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Model the warehouse first

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

29. Mixed

    Bharathi G., Senior Data Analyst (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Great tool if you're comfortable with SQLG2 review

    A senior analyst says teams now explore data without asking analysts once the model exists, but LookML takes heavy setup and small changes still need a developer.

    Published May 7, 2025self-described: Small business (50 or fewer employees), dashboards for the team

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Model the warehouse first
    • Fewer ad hoc requests

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Small team

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

30. Positive

    hipsterrobot, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: DRY metrics in Looker?Reddit comment

    The commenter's organization defines business logic once in Explores and extends them as building blocks in other Explores.

    Published Apr 22, 2025self-described: Organization extending Explores

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • One definition per metric

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

31. Mixed

    badass_panda, Reddit poster in r/Looker

    Post: DRY metrics in Looker?Reddit post

    Implementing Looker at scale, the poster's organization finds it hard to reuse KPIs modeled by different teams in a new Explore, and merged results stop at 5,000 rows.

    Published Apr 17, 2025self-described: Organization implementing Looker at significant scale

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Mixed or negative
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Organization-wide

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

32. Negative

    anaselkhaloui, Hacker News commenter

    Comment on: CubeJS - A Universal OSS Semantic Layer (Maturity?)Hacker News comment

    The company uses Looker as its BI tool and semantic layer, finds it not that good and without a roadmap, and is weighing Cube for a more universal layer.

    Published Mar 13, 2025self-described: Company using Looker as BI and semantic layer

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Mixed or negative
    • Product Pace & Support: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Department

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

33. Negative

    Ifuqaround, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker vs power bi, how difficult is lookML?Reddit comment

    Uses Looker only for quick, rough requests because there are things it cannot handle, and turns to SQL for the rest.

    Published Apr 5, 2026self-described: Employer offers Oracle SQL and Looker

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Mixed or negative

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

34. Mixed

    IncredulousDylan, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker vs power bi, how difficult is lookML?Reddit comment

    Wasted time recreating visuals familiar from Power BI, but liked Looker a lot once the setup work was done and logic was prepared upstream in BigQuery.

    Published Feb 18, 2026self-described: Built with Looker until about 2024

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern
    • Model the warehouse first

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

35. Mixed

    setemupknockem, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker vs power bi, how difficult is lookML?Reddit comment

    Someone who knows SQL will be fine building LookML, but will be frustrated by the visual options and navigation, and date comparisons are a pain.

    Published Feb 17, 2026self-described: Looker developer

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • LookML Learning Curve: Discussed without concern
    • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

36. Positive

    icing9, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker vs power bi, how difficult is lookML?Reddit comment

    After more than a decade on Looker, finds LookML beautiful when developed and maintained carefully, though few organizations take that layer seriously enough.

    Published Feb 17, 2026self-described: More than a decade of Looker and LookML

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Model the warehouse first

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

37. Positive

    Steven M., Account Manager (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Transforms Data into Actionable InsightsG2 review

    An account manager builds KPI dashboards for sales conversations without waiting on the data team, though large datasets load slowly.

    Published Jan 8, 2026self-described: Enterprise marketing and advertising company (more than 1,000 employees), sales reporting

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • Query Speed & Load: Raised as a concern
    • Fewer ad hoc requests
    • Can business users serve themselves in Looker?: Business users self-serve

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Current

38. Positive

    Kasie L., reports builder at an internet company (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Effortless Reporting and Data ExplorationG2 review

    The reviewer builds order dashboards for other teams and says non-technical colleagues filter and explore them without SQL while sensitive fields stay hidden.

    Published Dec 20, 2025self-described: Enterprise internet company (more than 1,000 employees), order reports and dashboards for other teams

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • Can business users serve themselves in Looker?: Business users self-serve

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

39. Mixed

    Anonymous reviewer on G2, finance product manager at an enterprise company

    G2 review: Seamless BigQuery Integration Supercharges Finance DashboardsG2 review

    A finance product manager analyzes millions of transactions in place on BigQuery, but says non-technical finance colleagues cannot self-serve because meaningful work needs LookML.

    Published Dec 19, 2025self-described: Enterprise company (more than 1,000 employees), merchant and supplier unit economics on BigQuery

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Live Warehouse Queries: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Can business users serve themselves in Looker?: Analysts carry it

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

40. Negative

    Atrampoline, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker is quietly becoming the "must-learn" BI skill for 2026Reddit comment

    Calls the look of Looker dashboards the biggest downside of the platform.

    Published Dec 9, 2025self-described: Looker user

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

41. Positive

    Pretend-Actuary5832, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker is quietly becoming the "must-learn" BI skill for 2026Reddit comment

    Values Looker's CI/CD and Git integration, which Tableau and Power BI cannot match.

    Published Dec 9, 2025self-described: Looker developer

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Code-Based Development: Positive

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

42. Mixed

    elmaeg, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Looker is quietly becoming the "must-learn" BI skill for 2026Reddit comment

    Customization only fixes so much: wants distinct totals on bar charts and chart types such as Venn diagrams.

    Published Dec 9, 2025self-described: Looker dashboard builder

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

43. Mixed

    pietro2110, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: If you would need to choose a BI tool, would you choose Looker?Reddit comment

    Finds Looker great for some cases and terrible for others: fine for simple KPIs and very large tables in direct query, weak for complex context-dependent KPIs where Power BI fits better.

    Published Nov 19, 2025self-described: Has built Looker and Power BI solutions

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Mixed or negative
    • Live Warehouse Queries: Positive

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

44. Mixed

    burningburnerbern, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: If you would need to choose a BI tool, would you choose Looker?Reddit comment

    Likes LookML for keeping things DRY and in Git, but finds visualization so limited that, at Looker's price, plain dashboards are not worth it.

    Published Nov 19, 2025self-described: Own Looker development

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Code-Based Development: Positive
    • Cost: Raised as a concern
    • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

45. Positive

    cky_stew, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: If you would need to choose a BI tool, would you choose Looker?Reddit comment

    Finds Looker fantastic and adaptable, and the only tool the commenter knows that is locked down enough for users to build their own reports without making a mess.

    Published Nov 19, 2025self-described: Looker (not Looker Studio) deployments

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • Can business users serve themselves in Looker?: Business users self-serve

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

46. Mixed

    Vishal D., QA Tester (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Excellent for Data Exploration Once You Get Past the Learning CurveG2 review

    The reviewer likes consistent LookML metrics and drilling into dashboards, but says charts are limited, big datasets slow it down, and setup usually needs a developer.

    Published Nov 11, 2025self-described: Small business (50 or fewer employees)

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern
    • Query Speed & Load: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

47. Negative

    Magnús Þór Benediktsson, GitHub user

    Gemini CLI hallucinates responses from Looker MCPGitHub issue on google-gemini/gemini-cli

    When a Looker MCP query returned zero rows because of a wrong filter value, Gemini still answered with invented data. The BigQuery logs confirmed the result was empty, and Gemini admitted it only after being pushed.

    Published Aug 22, 2025self-described: Gemini CLI answering questions on BigQuery data through the Looker MCP server

    Counts toward, pending a recheck

    • Overall signal
    • Gemini & AI Agents: Mixed or negative

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Needs a recheck

    Observed on

    Gemini CLI 0.1.22 with gemini-2.5-pro and the Looker MCP server from MCP Toolbox

48. Positive

    Hacker News commenter (mritchie712), founder of Definite, a competing product, describing own Looker use

    Comment on: Why Semantic Layers Matter (and how to build one with DuckDB)Hacker News comment

    Liked Looker because reports could only be built from its semantic layer, an approach copied in the author's own company.

    Published Aug 19, 2025self-described: Former Looker user, founder of a data platform

    Not counted

    Its author founded Definite, a product that competes with Looker. Kept in the record; it takes part in no figure.

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

49. Mixed

    Like_My_Turkey_Cold, Reddit commenter in r/dataengineering, certified in Power BI and Tableau

    Comment on: Why are BI tools getting worse?Reddit comment

    A long-time BI user keeps a soft spot for Looker's opinionated self-serve design, but says it has not seen a meaningful improvement in a while.

    Published Aug 14, 2025self-described: Has used Looker, Power BI, Tableau, Metabase, and Hex

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • Product Pace & Support: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

50. Positive

    Sampath K., Security IAM Engineer II (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Robust BI Tool with Room for FlexibilityG2 review

    The reviewer likes LookML as a central, version-controlled model that lets managers explore live warehouse data, and says learning it takes time and training.

    Published Jun 5, 2025self-described: Enterprise company (more than 1,000 employees) on BigQuery and Snowflake

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Code-Based Development: Positive
    • Live Warehouse Queries: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

51. Mixed

    RefrigeratorSalt449, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Why is Looker so bad at Left Joins?Reddit comment

    After almost two years making Looker do a cube's work, concludes that without a processing step some interactions stay clumsy, and merged queries and table calculations do not fix it.

    Published May 28, 2025self-described: Two years making Looker do tabular-model work

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

52. Negative

    weed_cutter, Reddit poster in r/Looker

    Post: Why is Looker so bad at Left Joins?Reddit post

    Frustrated that filters on a left-joined view turn it into an inner join, and sees Looker as a back-burner project for Google.

    Published May 27, 2025self-described: LookML developer

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Product Pace & Support: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

53. Negative

    MrFengYT, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Moving to Looker from Power BIReddit comment

    Says Looker has barely improved its front end since 2019 and will not reach Power BI's level.

    Published May 10, 2025self-described: Looker user

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern
    • Product Pace & Support: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

54. Positive

    ash0550, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Moving to Looker from Power BIReddit comment

    Coming from SAP BO and Tableau six years ago, the first four months with LookML and Liquid were hard, and after that Looker felt as easy as any other tool.

    Published May 7, 2025self-described: Six years of Looker after SAP BO and Tableau

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • LookML Learning Curve: Discussed without concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

55. Negative

    mash_dummy, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Moving to Looker from Power BIReddit comment

    After two weeks of Looker following Power BI, finds it less intuitive with less functionality, and misses Power Query.

    Published May 7, 2025self-described: Two weeks of Looker after Power BI at work

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern
    • Visualization Limits: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

56. Positive

    Peachy1234567, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Moving to Looker from Power BIReddit comment

    With six years on Looker, sees its semantic layer as great for consistent definitions and governed self-service, and LookML as more intuitive than DAX, while Power BI is more flexible.

    Published May 7, 2025self-described: Six years of Looker, one month of Power BI training

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • One definition per metric

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

57. Mixed

    Effective_Slice843, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Moving to Looker from Power BIReddit comment

    Four months in, with a month of paid training, finds some simple Power BI tasks limited in Looker and notes AI tools generate inaccurate LookML syntax.

    Published May 7, 2025self-described: Four months at a company using LookML

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Gemini & AI Agents: Mixed or negative
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

58. Mixed

    i_Perry, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Moving to Looker from Power BIReddit comment

    Found Gemini very helpful for working through beginner questions, while calling the Looker documentation confusing and full of jargon.

    Published May 7, 2025self-described: New Looker user

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Gemini & AI Agents: Positive
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

    Observed on

    Gemini

59. Negative

    ponaspeier, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: Moving to Looker from Power BIReddit comment

    On a freelance Looker project, time intelligence measures for a custom sales calendar were a nightmare in LookML that DAX handles in a few lines, and help was harder to find.

    Published May 7, 2025self-described: Freelance Looker project after three years of Power BI

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • LookML Learning Curve: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

60. Mixed

    lk500i, Reddit commenter in r/Looker

    Comment on: DRY metrics in Looker?Reddit comment

    Advises keeping LookML light and solving definitions in the warehouse, using Looker to let business people query without code.

    Published Apr 17, 2025self-described: Looker practitioner

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • Model the warehouse first

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

61. Mixed

    Omar A., Data Engineer (G2 reviewer)

    G2 review: Scalable BI ToolG2 review

    A data engineer values Looker's access controls by team and its AI question answering for non-technical users, but says thin documentation leaves them testing features by trial and error.

    Published Apr 5, 2025self-described: Mid-market company (51 to 1,000 employees) on Google Cloud

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Self-Serve Exploration: Positive
    • Gemini & AI Agents: Positive
    • Live Warehouse Queries: Positive

    Published on

    Reviews & Blogs

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

62. Mixed

    Reddit commenter in r/dataengineering (itsnotaboutthecell)

    Comment on: Thoughts on looker?Reddit comment

    Developed on Looker in a past role and found that LookML took a while to understand.

    Published Mar 14, 2025self-described: Developed on Looker in a past role

    Not counted

    Its author carries a Microsoft Employee flair, and Microsoft sells Power BI, which competes with Looker. Kept in the record; it takes part in no figure.

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

63. Positive

    josejo9423, Reddit poster in r/dataengineering

    Post: Thoughts on looker?Reddit post

    Finds Looker a solid replacement for a processing layer such as dbt, with dashboard features that serve its purpose.

    Published Mar 13, 2025self-described: Own Looker use

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

64. Negative

    jakevoytko, Hacker News commenter

    Comment on: Users don't care about your tech stackHacker News comment

    The commenter says they have the misfortune of using Looker every day.

    Published Feb 21, 2025self-described: Uses Looker daily at work

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable

65. Mixed

    anon84873628, Hacker News commenter

    Comment on: SQL pipe syntax available in public preview in BigQueryHacker News comment

    The commenter credits LookML's compilation to many SQL dialects, but says the front end cannot express arbitrary queries without hassle and that the commenter cannot tell what Google plans for Looker.

    Published Feb 13, 2025self-described: LookML user

    Counts toward

    • Overall signal
    • Governed Metrics: Positive
    • Ease of Use: Mixed or negative
    • Product Pace & Support: Raised as a concern

    Published on

    Data Communities

    Who

    Individual user

    Evidence

    Reported

    Applies to

    Still applicable