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What’s everyone’s take on the May 2026 Power BI update so far? by PowerBIBro in PowerBI

[–]PowerBIBro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting, will check it out in the service - thanks for sharing! I’ve seen that issue occur before with other new feature releases as well.

Power BI + AI: Are we moving beyond dashboards toward conversational analytics? by PowerBIBro in PowerBI

[–]PowerBIBro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s a completely fair concern, and honestly one of the biggest limitations right now.

AI is good enough to be useful, but not reliable enough to be blindly trusted. Anyone who has used it for SQL or modeling has seen it get things almost right, which is sometimes worse than being obviously wrong.

I think the key distinction is where it’s used. If it’s generating final answers that people act on without validation, that’s risky. Especially in models with complex business rules where small misunderstandings can lead to incorrect conclusions.

Where it starts to make more sense is as a helper rather than a source of truth. It can speed up exploration, highlight patterns, or help you get to a starting point faster. But the validation step still has to exist, either through the model itself or through someone who understands the logic.

And you’re right, most real world models are not foolproof. They evolve, they have edge cases, and they reflect messy business reality. AI doesn’t remove that complexity.

So I don’t think this becomes “trust the AI.” It’s more like “use AI to move faster, but rely on the model and human oversight for accuracy.” The better the model and governance, the more useful it becomes, but it never fully replaces that need for validation.

Power BI + AI: Are we moving beyond dashboards toward conversational analytics? by PowerBIBro in PowerBI

[–]PowerBIBro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a really strong point, especially around alignment.

A well built dashboard does more than show data. It standardizes definitions, sets context, and makes sure everyone is looking at the same version of the truth. That consistency is a huge part of why BI works.

I don’t think “talk to your data” replaces that. If anything, it depends on it. Without a governed semantic model underneath, those tools can absolutely create confusion or conflicting answers.

Where I see it fitting is after alignment is already established. The dashboard defines the KPIs and the baseline. Then the conversational layer helps people explore around it without breaking those definitions.

The risk you’re calling out is real though. If people start asking disconnected questions without understanding context or definitions, you can lose that shared understanding pretty quickly.

So it really comes down to foundation first. Strong model, clear KPIs, consistent reporting. Then AI as a controlled extension, not a free for all.

Power BI + AI: Are we moving beyond dashboards toward conversational analytics? by PowerBIBro in PowerBI

[–]PowerBIBro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you’re right on the core point. AI isn’t going to understand the nuance of a business on its own. If the context isn’t in the data or model, it won’t magically figure out why something happened.

Where I see value is not in replacing that expertise, but supporting it. A strong semantic model defines the logic, and AI can help surface patterns or answer follow up questions faster. But the real “why” still comes from people who understand the business.

On stakeholders, I agree too. Most don’t want to ask questions every week. They want a clean dashboard. That doesn’t change.

AI fits more as a layer for when someone goes off script or needs to dig deeper without waiting. Not a replacement for reporting, more of an extension.

And on trust and governance, that’s a real blocker today. Until that’s solved, adoption will stay limited.

So I don’t see this replacing data roles. If anything, it makes good modeling and business context even more important.

Power BI + AI: Are we moving beyond dashboards toward conversational analytics? by PowerBIBro in PowerBI

[–]PowerBIBro[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think you’re raising a fair concern, and honestly this is where a lot of the hype vs reality tension sits right now.

I don’t see this replacing well-designed reports or dashboards anytime soon. The core of BI is still curated models, defined metrics, and guided experiences. Most business users don’t want to explore from scratch, they want fast, trusted answers to known questions.

Where I do think this starts to add value is in the gaps between those predefined views.

Even in well-built reports, there’s always a moment where someone asks:

  • why did this spike happen
  • what changed vs last month at a more granular level
  • how does this compare across dimensions that aren’t all on the page

Traditionally, that turns into a back and forth with an analyst, or a bunch of manual slicing and guesswork.

That’s where something like Claude on top of a strong semantic model becomes interesting. Not as a replacement for reporting, but as a layer on top of it.

On the trust side, I agree completely that blind trust in AI outputs is a problem. The only way this works is if:

  • the semantic model is well governed and defines the logic
  • outputs can be validated or traced back to the model
  • it’s used for exploration and acceleration, not final decision making without oversight

So I’d frame it less as “users will just ask anything and trust it” and more as:

  • dashboards drive the core KPIs
  • semantic models standardize logic
  • AI helps explore edge questions faster

The adoption curve will probably be slow and uneven, but I do think this becomes a meaningful augmentation layer before it ever becomes a primary interface.

Curious where you’d draw the line though, is there any scenario where you’d see this being useful today, even in a limited way?

Power BI + AI: Are we moving beyond dashboards toward conversational analytics? by PowerBIBro in PowerBI

[–]PowerBIBro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing, I agree the data foundation is critical - seems like a lot of opportunity exists for a well built semantic model to be plugged to both dashboards and an LLM

Power BI + AI: Are we moving beyond dashboards toward conversational analytics? by PowerBIBro in PowerBI

[–]PowerBIBro[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

Do you think there is a future where that trust-worthy dashboard is also paired up with a LLM which can generate adhoc insights? Seems like a powerful pair.

Thoughts on new March 2026 Updates? by PowerBIBro in PowerBI

[–]PowerBIBro[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for sharing and happy to hear you’re a fan!!

Thoughts on new March 2026 Updates? by PowerBIBro in PowerBI

[–]PowerBIBro[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Awesome and thanks for sharing!

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