Databricks introduces Databricks AI/BI, an AI-driven solution on the company’s data platform that makes business intelligence accessible through a chatbot and simple visualizations.

Databricks launches Databricks AI/BI. The flag covers the content: The three components that make up the name of the solution reveal what it does.

We start with the BI: The new tool is a business intelligence solution that brings answers to business questions based on company data to the forefront. Consider data on sales, revenue or customer churn.

Then falls AI While classic BI solutions work with dashboards that are usually compiled by analysts, this tool relies on artificial intelligence. Business users can ask their question in human language, whereupon Databricks AI/BI provides a customized answer including visualization.

Finally Data blocks more than a brand name: The entire system is integrated with the Databricks platform and the Databricks Unity catalog. Business data underlies the capabilities of Databricks AI/BI, but you don’t have to worry about administration and rights. All policies regarding the data sets set by administrators continue to apply in the context of the AI-BI solution, so no data is copied.

Deep integration

Databricks insists that AI was not simply installed on its data platform. The entire AI/BI system is tightly integrated with Databricks itself and uses a wide range of agents to translate natural language questions into answers. For example, Databricks AI/BI consists of subsystems for interpreting the question, generating SQL code, providing human language explanations, visualizing data, and validating the result.

For the user, Databricks AI/BI has two faces. The first interface consists of AI/BI dashboards. This interface is most similar to that of a classic BI solution and offers low-code solutions for building new dashboards. Here you can also find answers to predefined questions.

The second interface is AI/BI Genie, which is a conversational tool that you can ask questions to in natural language. Genie is the biggest innovation and, according to Databricks, an important step towards true self-service BI.

After Snowflake

Are you getting a sense of déjà vu? What can. Databricks follows Snowflake with its solution. Databricks AI/BI is similar in functionality to Cortex Analyst and Cortex Search. Main competitor Snowflake announced this solution last week at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where Databricks is holding its conference today.

Both parties insist on the same things. In particular, the integration of AI is central, as opposed to a solution that would exist alongside the existing offering. The way the AI ​​handles data is also important, with management rules still applying in the AI ​​context.