Allowing users to ask natural language questions to Power BI dashboards

[querixa]

Hi everyone,

One challenge we often see with Power BI dashboards is that business users still struggle to navigate complex reports.

Even when the data is available, many users still rely on analysts to answer questions such as:

• What is the best-performing product?
• Which region has the highest revenue growth?
• What is the margin trend this quarter?

Because of this, dashboards sometimes become static reporting tools rather than interactive decision tools.

We recently started experimenting with a different approach: adding a conversational interface directly inside Power BI so users can ask questions about their data and instantly receive insights.

I recorded a short demo showing how this interaction works.

👇 Demo video
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/querixa_power-bi-ai-ask-questions-and-get-insights-activity-743840718...

I'm curious to know if others here have explored similar approaches to make Power BI dashboards easier for non-technical users.

Do you think conversational interfaces could become a common way to interact with Power BI reports?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

[v-pgoloju]

Hi @querixa,

Just following up to see if the Response provided by community members were helpful in addressing the issue. if the issue still persists Feel free to reach out if you need any further clarification or assistance.

Best regards,
Prasanna Kumar

[querixa]

Hi @v-pgoloju,

Thank you for the follow-up, really appreciate the support from you and the community.

This post was more about sharing an approach and gathering feedback rather than solving a specific issue, and the insights shared were helpful.

We’ve actually been exploring this topic further, especially around how adding a conversational layer inside Microsoft Power BI can reduce dependency on analysts and make reports more accessible to business users.

One interesting observation so far is that users tend to ask questions that were not initially anticipated when designing the dashboard, which opens up a completely different way of interacting with data.

I’d still be very interested to hear if others in the community are experimenting with similar approaches or have feedback on this direction.

Thanks again for your support.

Best regards,
Querixa

[v-kpoloju-msft · Accepted solution]

Hi @querixa,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum. Also, thanks to @Mauro89, for his inputs on this thread. 

This is a really interesting direction, and what you are observing aligns with a broader shift we are seeing in how users interact with data. Traditional Power BI reports are designed around predefined questions, but as you mentioned, users often think beyond those boundaries. Adding a conversational layer whether through built-in capabilities like Copilot or custom solutions helps bridge that gap by allowing users to explore data more naturally without needing deep report navigation knowledge.

That said, many teams experimenting with this approach are finding the most success when combining it with a well-structured semantic model and clear data definitions. Tools like Copilot in Microsoft Fabric or Data Agents can already support natural language querying to some extent, but the key challenge is ensuring accuracy, governance, and user trust in the answers returned. Overall, conversational BI is definitely gaining traction, and it’s likely to become a more common interaction pattern, especially for business users who prefer asking questions over navigating complex visuals.

Hope that clarifies. Let us know if you have any doubts regarding this. We will be happy to help.

Thank you for using the Microsoft Fabric Community Forum.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @querixa, 

Just checking in to see if the issue has been resolved on your end. If the earlier suggestions helped, that’s great to hear! And if you’re still facing challenges, feel free to share more details happy to assist further.

Thank you.

[v-kpoloju-msft]

Hi @querixa, 

Just wanted to follow up. If the shared guidance worked for you, that’s wonderful hopefully it also helps others looking for similar answers. If there’s anything else you'd like to explore or clarify, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you.

[v-pgoloju]

Hi @querixa,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Fabric Forum Community, and special thanks to @Mauro89  for prompt and helpful responses.

Just following up to see if the Response provided by community members were helpful in addressing the issue. if the issue still persists Feel free to reach out if you need any further clarification or assistance.

Best regards,
Prasanna Kumar

[Mauro89]

Hi @querixa,

I see in my projects that the usage of in-app Copilot in Power BI or Fabric Copilot can assist the users in this job in a very good way.

Overview of Copilot in Fabric - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

In addition to that I encourage users not only rely on Power BI Reports but also make use of Data Agents. Data Agents take natural language input and can be based on Semantic Models similar to Power BI Reports as well.

Fabric data agent creation - Microsoft Fabric | Microsoft Learn

Best regards!

PS: If you find this post helpful consider leaving kudos or mark it as solution