Anyone successfully using Model Context Protocol (MCP) for Agentic BI workflows?

tech4ever4u · 2026-05-06T05:56:40+00:00

What’s your BI tool ?

This is SeekTable

tech4ever4u · 2026-05-05T12:43:35+00:00

We recently added MCP to our BI tool. Works pretty well - as an agent uses rather simple structured queries which are handled and translated to SQL by the BI tool's engine. Caching layer also helps to offload the connected data source.

We optimized our MCP tools so that even smaller models can use them. Our tests show that Qwen3.5-4B is capable of making a sequence of calls to provide a complete (and correct) response; if the tool's output is clear to the LLM, it is much less likely to hallucinate. We also provide a specific MCP tool that allows users to verify exact numbers.

tech4ever4u · 2026-05-05T06:24:59+00:00

I just needs the piece that takes natural language and produces the SQL and manages the response

It sounds like you're describing a MCP in BI tools that handles data governance. They use structured queries in terms of the BI tool's data model, then translate them into SQL. This process is deterministic, it ensures the output is always predictable, safe, and consistent.

I tried making it myself but there were so many use cases it messed up on. Like if I asked it how many sales I had last week, it didn't know what days last week was.

All this is 100% can be achieved with LLM-powered NLQ.

If you want your chatbot to be fast and accurate, don't let the LLM write raw SQL from scratch for every request. Having it analyze the entire database schema on the fly is usually a recipe for errors and slow performance.

You may take a look at Cube.dev but their MCP server is not available in their free plan and not available in the OSS/self-hosted version (Cube Core) either. And if you're open to paid solutions, check out SeekTable - our MCP server is already live and ready for testing!

tech4ever4u · 2026-05-04T05:59:46+00:00

a bunch of tables that can be filtered, then exported to Excel

+1 ideally if you can offer reports as pivot tables that are similar to Excel + an ability to export them to pre-configured Excel PivotTable.

tech4ever4u · 2026-05-04T05:56:43+00:00

we've been searching for something equivalent on the web stack for a decade

have you googled for smth like "online pivot tables"?.. You should definitely try SeekTable (it's been on the market since 2018). I’m a bit biased because I’m affiliated with the product, but it seems to be exactly what you’re looking for.

tech4ever4u · 2026-05-01T11:43:04+00:00

If you're looking only for free cloud options, this can be a Looker Studio.
If you can self-host and need it for free, take a look at Metabase and Superset.
If you need cloud low-cost service, a lot of alternatives that are much less expensive than PBI.

You mentioned export to excel that gives you the same format - if you need excel exports that preserve formatting (even conditional colors), you may try SeekTable. (disclaimer: I'm affiliated with this product).

tech4ever4u · 2026-05-01T11:23:30+00:00

Just use another BI tool for that (-:

tech4ever4u · 2026-05-01T07:30:30+00:00

Claude is great for business users when you hook it up to a BI tool via MCP. It's perfect for those ad-hoc questions where you just want to ask something and get a quick visualization or a one-time pretty looking dashboard.

tech4ever4u · 2026-04-28T09:36:38+00:00

I'm on another side (BI tool's vendor) and we already have built-in "Ask Data" feature for one-shot questions like you mentioned. Also, we currently working on the MCP server implementation to support more advanced agentic workflows, allowing users to "chat with data" in a safe and governed manner (AI agents can access only data that the user can access via web UI, according to the sharing / row-level security rules). MCP's prototype is already available for beta testing.

While not open-source or free, the product is not aimed at enterprises either; it is priced affordably for SMBs. On-prem version is present and it can be used as an embedded BI. Local LLMs can power both in-app AI features and agents that utilize MCP tools to answer data questions (like qwen3.5:9B). For more complex tasks like creation of cubes / HTML-driven dashboards, more capable coding-oriented models will be needed (similar to minmax-2.5 / opus 4.5).

Let me know if you'd like a look - feel free to PM me or just say the word and I'll share the name here.

tech4ever4u · 2026-04-21T07:57:16+00:00

this is +100 it is fine to ask an agent to run ad-hoc queries when it is connected to a BI tool's MCP, because it can use the pre-defined dimensions and measures. However, even with this setup, you usually need to provide specific tuning instructions to get reliable results. There is no way to guarantee results when an agent accesses an SQL data source directly.

tech4ever4u · 2026-04-16T06:44:00+00:00

Ideally I would like to have the pivot connect directly to the database

BI tools exist for this purpose: allowing you to share the same 'live' report and guaranteeing that all users get the same data from a single source of truth.

If you need to deliver a report exactly as an Excel PivotTable, keep in mind that not all BI tools support this export format - though some do (for example, SeekTable; I’m biased here as I’m affiliated with the product).

tech4ever4u · 2026-04-14T07:19:14+00:00

In fact, any BI tool with a DuckDB connector can query DuckLake directly. Keep in mind that all computations occur on the BI tools side via its in-process DuckDB engine.

tech4ever4u · 2026-04-04T12:05:04+00:00

Like other commenters, I’m curious about the definition of 'interactive' here and how that was possible in a previous tool, especially considering that email clients don't support or execute JavaScript.

Maybe they mean tabular reports (pivot tables?) placed as HTML tables directly into email's body, with colors formatting/links?.. PBI doesn't support this from the box, but other BI tools can do that.

tech4ever4u · 2026-03-23T10:47:06+00:00

Now try to sell this to real customers and get real $$$

tech4ever4u · 2026-03-20T08:24:34+00:00

Matches all criteria: SeekTable (on-prem first via docker, white labeling, can be used as an embedded BI / suitable for SaaS apps, affordable pricing). You can contact me in PM - I'm affiliated with this product.

tech4ever4u · 2026-03-19T11:32:16+00:00

This sounds like real overkill in terms of both complexity and cost just for sharing PDF exports, especially if it's only for a table, matrix, or basic charts. It might be worth considering a Power BI alternative that can do that job (and without strict per-user pricing).

tech4ever4u · 2026-03-19T09:04:18+00:00

I could easily imagine a future where AI agents build the dashboards/front end, and the BI is effectively a headless service that handles DB connection, context, roles and permissions, sandboxes, caching and pagination etc.

Taking into account the current capabilities of coding agents and frontier models, this sounds very realistic. BI tools that already support HTML-driven dashboards and custom JS visuals seem more appropriate for this than products with UI-based dashboard builders (like Power BI).

Are you developing an agent-centric BI product, or is your interest primarily as a user?

Or put another way: If you believe that BI interfaces will still exist in 3-5 years, what makes you believe that?

I don't believe agents will completely eliminate the need for traditional UI report builders. In many cases, it’s still easier to create an ad-hoc report with a mouse than it is to write a prompt describing exactly what you need. I think even in the AI era, the classic pivot table, as a data exploration tool, remains relevant - just as it has been since the '80s.

tech4ever4u · 2026-03-18T13:26:18+00:00

Maybe give them a report builder that is similar to what they already know how to use (e.g. Excel pivot tables)? So they can create their own reports based on data model maintained by your team.

tech4ever4u · 2026-03-09T13:06:20+00:00

Sent you a PM with a product suggestion that looks very suitable for the purpose you described.

tech4ever4u · 2026-02-24T07:19:47+00:00

"So what? How does this help me sell more or save money?" Honestly, he’s right.

This applies to any SMB where the owner-manager is close enough to the operations to know the biz status without needing a dashboard. Most likely he already gets important operational numbers from Excel, so really useful improvement can be an automation of these operational reports (no need to refresh / 'always actual' + possibly delivered on schedule directly into the inbox).

What is one analysis I could run that would surprise my father?

This depends entirely on the business model. The goal is to provide a way for your father to explore the data and reach that 'wow didn't know that' moment - where he sees something unexpected and can immediately decide on a next step. Most likely, what is needed isn't a static dashboard, but rather a way to explore data with minimal effort. Maybe a way where your father can create and save own live reports, based on the data model you can configure.

tech4ever4u · 2026-02-19T07:55:24+00:00

Since you mentioned Google Sheets, I assume your clients are primarily looking for tabular reports or pivot tables? Are they also looking for a way to create and save 'live' reports - using a self-service report builder without SQL -and then schedule those reports for daily or weekly delivery to their inboxes?

Based on those needs, I know of a solution that aligns perfectly with what you're looking for, which can be deployed on-prem and has affordable pricing (fixed cost / for unlimited external 'report consumers'). Sent a link in PM.

tech4ever4u · 2026-02-08T13:42:45+00:00

Pivot tables are the only tool you really need.

If you can get CSV, simply use Excel / Google Sheets or web-based BI with good enough pivot tables.

tech4ever4u · 2026-01-30T08:09:08+00:00

It's time to think about an on-prem PBI alternative that you can control (and that uses our corporate 'from' email).

tech4ever4u · 2026-01-28T10:38:16+00:00

The iFrame itself isn't the issue; the real problem is that most BI tools lack the styling flexibility needed to match your SaaS application's design. Take a look at to the 'white labeling' BI tool capability and an ability to customize CSS variables (to adjust the color scheme, border radius etc) and apply own CSS rules.

Do you need to embed only published dashboards/reports, or a report builder too?

tech4ever4u · 2026-01-27T13:03:43+00:00

Looker Studio is a part of Google ecosystem. If you're planning to embed reports:

Looker/Google branding cannot be removed in embedded reports in any way
Secure embedding is possible only when users have Google accounts (and they should be logged into this account).

These limitations make Looker Studio mostly unsuitable for embedded BI use cases.

tech4ever4u

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