Does Redshift ever create AUTO materialized views for tables managed by Zero ETL

Amazon Redshift does support materialized views on tables replicated through zero-ETL integrations, but with some important distinctions.

While the Automated Materialized Views (AutoMV) feature in Redshift can automatically create and manage materialized views based on workload monitoring, there are specific considerations for zero-ETL integrated tables:

1. The destination database created by a zero-ETL integration is read-only. You cannot create tables, views, or materialized views directly in this destination database.

2. However, you can use materialized views on zero-ETL replicated tables when used in cross-database queries. This means you would need to create the materialized views in your target data warehouse (not in the zero-ETL destination database itself).

3. As of December 2024, Amazon Redshift announced support for automatically and incrementally refreshable materialized views on tables in a zero-ETL integration. This new feature eliminates the need for full refreshes and enables more efficient data updates.

The performance differences you're noticing might be because AutoMVs haven't yet been created for your zero-ETL managed tables. Since AutoMV operates based on workload patterns and machine learning algorithms, it may take time for the system to identify beneficial materialized view opportunities for your new zero-ETL setup. Additionally, you may need to ensure you're properly querying across databases to leverage materialized views with your zero-ETL data.
Sources
Automated materialized views - Amazon Redshift
Amazon Redshift supports auto and incremental refresh of Materialized Views for zero-ETL integrations - AWS
Considerations when using zero-ETL integrations with Amazon Redshift - Amazon Redshift