Copilot and AI integration: Transforming Data Analysis with AI in Power BI

Introduction

AI isn’t the future anymore — it’s already part of your workflow whether you notice it or not. And in Power BI, it’s arriving through Copilot — Microsoft’s built-in AI assistant that understands your data models, visuals, and business questions.

With Copilot, you don’t need to memorize DAX formulas, navigate dozens of visuals, or wait days for a new report. You just ask questions, and Copilot works with your dataset to give back charts, summaries, or even new report pages.

This guide breaks down:

1. Who can use Copilot
2. How to use it — with step-by-step instructions
3. What licenses and setup are required

2. Who Can Use Copilot — and How?
3. Report Consumers (Business Users, Managers, Execs)

These are the people using reports — not building them. With Copilot, they can get insights on demand without relying on developers.

What You Can Do:

• Ask Questions About the Data

• Go to a report hosted in a Copilot-enabled workspace
• Click the Copilot icon (top-right corner)
• Type:
  ➤ “Show me sales by region over the last 6 months”
  ➤ “Which product categories are growing fastest?”
• Copilot responds with a chart, summary, or table — depending on your question

• Create New Visuals

• Ask: “Add a line chart showing customer churn by month”
• Copilot will add the visual directly to the report page
• You can move or resize it as usual

• Generate a New Report Page

• Say: “Create a new page summarizing regional performance”
• Copilot builds out a draft layout with key visuals and filters
• You can rename the page, adjust visuals, or keep it as is

• Understand Metrics

• Ask: “What does this KPI mean?” while hovering on a visual
• Copilot pulls metadata (if added by the creator) to explain what the metric represents

Note: This only works well if the report creator has set up the data model and added descriptions properly (explained below).

Report Creators (Analysts, BI Developers, Power Users)

For creators, Copilot is a time-saver — but only if the groundwork is solid. Think of it as building a house: Copilot is the assistant that decorates, but you still need to lay the foundation.

Step 1: Create a Strong Semantic Model

Before anything else:

• Use Power BI Desktop or Service
• Build relationships between tables (don’t rely on flat files)
• Use star schema if possible — with fact and dimension tables
• Use measures instead of calculated columns for KPIs

Copilot works only with proper Power BI datasets, not visuals based on direct Excel/CSV loads.

Step 2: Add Metadata Descriptions (This is critical)

This is how Copilot understands your data. Here’s how to add them:

For Measures:

1. Go to the Model view in Power BI Desktop
2. In the right panel, click on a measure
3. In the Properties pane (bottom right), locate the Description box
4. Add something clear, like:
   “Total revenue from all customer transactions, excluding returns.”

For Columns:

1. Still in Model view, click on the column you want
2. In the Properties pane, add a description:
   “Customer segment based on annual spending.”

For Tables:

1. Right-click on the table name in Fields pane
2. Select Properties
3. Add a description like:
   “Contains transactional sales data from POS systems.”

Why this matters: When report consumers ask “What is customer lifetime value?”, Copilot pulls your description. No description = vague or wrong answers.

Step 3: Use Copilot to Help Build the Report

• Generate DAX Measures

• In Power BI Desktop or Service (in a Copilot-enabled workspace), click on Copilot
• Type: “Create a measure for YoY growth in profit”
• Copilot will write the DAX, insert it into your model, and explain the logic
• Review the formula. It’s not always perfect, but it saves a ton of time

• Add Visuals via Prompt

• Ask: “Add a clustered column chart of revenue by channel”
• Copilot adds it directly to the report canvas
• You can edit formatting and layout just like any other visual

• Create Summary Text

• Ask: “Summarize this page for executive-level reporting”
• Copilot generates a business-friendly summary (e.g., “Revenue increased 12% QoQ driven by APAC…”)
• Copy this into your report as a text box or share it via Teams/Outlook

Summary Table:

Action	Report Consumers	Report Creators
Ask questions in plain English	✅	✅
Create new visuals via prompt	✅	✅
Add metadata (descriptions)	❌	✅
Build semantic model	❌	✅
Generate DAX	❌	✅
Get KPI explanations	✅	✅
Summarize reports	✅	✅

Licensing & Setup: What You Need to Enable Copilot

Required Licensing:

You must have either:

• Microsoft Fabric Capacity (F64 or higher), OR
• Power BI Premium (P SKU, e.g. P1, P2)

Not Supported:

• Power BI Pro-only workspaces
• Free users
• Fabric F2 / F4 capacities (too small for Copilot)

Check with your admin to see if your workspace is assigned to the right capacity.

Configuration Steps (For Admins and Creators):

• Admin: Enable Copilot in Admin Portal

  • Go to Power BI Admin Portal
  • Navigate to Tenant settings → Copilot and Azure OpenAI
  • Enable for relevant security groups or entire org

• Assign Your Workspace to Premium or Fabric Capacity

  • In Power BI Service, go to the workspace settings
  • Set the capacity to an eligible Fabric or Premium capacity

• Publish a Dataset with a Semantic Model

  • Must be a proper Power BI dataset (not a live Excel file)
  • Ideally built in Power BI Desktop, with all relationships, measures, and metadata defined

Once these are done, the Copilot icon appears when editing reports in Power BI Service.

Conclusion

Copilot isn’t just another feature — it’s a shift in how people use data. Instead of memorizing formulas or building filters, users ask questions. Instead of starting from scratch, creators let AI build the first draft.

But it only works well when your models are clean, your metadata is clear, and your licensing is in place.

If you’re a report consumer — start asking questions.

If you’re a creator — build your models like you’re training Copilot to think.

Because the faster you teach it your business logic, the more it’ll do the heavy lifting. Consider taking a Power BI course to master data modeling and optimization, as the faster you teach it your business logic, the more it’ll do the heavy lifting.