What Power BI Is—and Why It Makes Sense to Pair It with AI
AI in Power BI makes it easier to understand trends, forecast outcomes, and create charts without coding. It’s ideal for both beginners and professionals.
How Does AI Work in Power BI?
AI in Power BI uses machine learning and natural language processing (NLP) to:
- Automatically create charts.
- Answer natural language questions.
- Find patterns and key influencers in your data.
- Getting Started with Power BI
How to Install Power BI Desktop
- Go to powerbi.microsoft.com.
- Click Download > Power BI Desktop.
- Install and open the application.
How to Connect a Dataset in Power BI
- Open Power BI.
- Click Get Data.
- Choose your source (Excel, CSV, SQL, etc.).
- Load and preview your data.
How to Clean Data in Power BI
Use Power Query Editor to:
- Remove duplicates.
- Change column types.
- Filter unnecessary rows.
- Create calculated columns.
- Clean data = better charts!
What Types of Charts Can You Create in Power BI?
Power BI offers many chart types:
- Column & Bar Charts
- Pie & Donut Charts
- Line & Area Charts
- Treemaps
- Scatter Plots
- Funnel Charts
- Waterfall Charts
Choose the chart type based on the story you want to tell.
What AI Tools Are Available in Power BI?
Power BI offers these built-in AI visuals:
- Q&A Visual – Type your question in plain English and get instant insights.
- Smart Narratives—Auto-generated summaries of visuals.
- Key Influencers—Find what affects metrics the most.
- Decomposition Tree – Drill into data hierarchically.
- Forecasting—Predict trends in your charts.
How to Create Charts Using AI in Power BI: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Load Your Data
Click on "Get Data," import your file, and then click "Load."
Step 2: Enable AI Features
Go to File > Options > Preview features and turn on:
- Q&A
- Smart Narratives
- AI Insights (if needed)
Step 3: Use the Q&A Visual
Select the Q&A visual from the Visualizations pane.
Type a question like:
"Total sales by month"
Power BI will generate the best-fitting chart automatically.
Step 4: Customize Your Chart
- Change colors, labels, and fonts.
- Add slicers and filters for interactivity.
Step 5: Add Smart Narratives
Drag in the Smart Narrative visual. It automatically writes a text summary of your charts.
How Does Q&A in Power BI Work?
You type a question like:
- "Show average revenue by product."
And Power BI creates a chart using that query.
This is NLP (natural language processing) in action—no coding needed!
- What does the Key Influencers visual do in Power BI?
This AI visual answers questions like
- “What factors affect product sales?”
It shows the top variables influencing your selected outcome.
- What is the Decomposition Tree in Power BI?
It lets you explore the “why” behind your data.
You can break down a metric (like sales) by region, product, or time.
- What Are the Benefits of Using AI in Power BI?
1-Saves Time: Get quick insights without manual chart creation.
2-Smarter Decisions: AI points out trends you might miss.
3-User-Friendly: Even non-technical users can explore data.
Tips for Using AI in Power BI Effectively
- Ask clear questions in the Q&A visual.
- Validate the insights AI provides.
- Combine AI visuals with traditional charts for richer dashboards.
Common Mistakes to Avoid with AI in Power BI
- Blindly trusting AI without checking the data
- Overloading dashboards with too many visuals
- Ignoring user-friendly design (make it clean and readable)
Use Cases for AI in Power BI
- Sales Reporting: Auto-chart revenue trends and regional performance.
- Marketing Analysis: Understand campaign performance with Q&A.
- Finance Forecasting: Predict future revenue with built-in forecasting.
What’s Next for AI in Power BI?
- Copilot Integration: Soon, you’ll have Microsoft Copilot in Power BI to build reports for you from prompts.
- Deeper NLP Features: More complex questions will be understood.
- Tighter Azure AI Integration: Import custom ML models with ease.
Conclusion
Creating charts in Power BI using AI is no longer just for data scientists. Thanks to tools like Q&A, Smart Narratives, and Key Influencers, anyone can explore and visualize data with ease.
So go ahead—talk to your data. Power BI is listening.
FAQs
Q1: How can I use AI in Power BI to generate a chart automatically?
Use the Q&A Visual. Just type your question in plain English, and Power BI will generate the chart.
Q2: Are AI features available in the free version of Power BI?
Yes, AI features like Q&A and Smart Narratives are available in Power BI Desktop, which is free.
Q3: Can AI help forecast trends in Power BI?
Yes, use line charts with Forecasting enabled to predict future values based on historical data.
Q4: What if the AI chart isn’t accurate?
Always double-check the data source and question phrasing. AI gives suggestions, not guaranteed answers.
Q5: Can I use AI in Power BI without any coding skills?
Absolutely. Power BI’s AI tools are designed for non-technical users. No coding is required.