From Power BI Q&A to Copilot: The Future of AI-Driven Analytics
Table of Contents
Introduction
Power BI has some powerful AI features that help users explore the data without writing complex queries or creating visuals. One of the powerful features in Power BI is “Q&A.” This feature allows users to ask questions in a natural format and create visuals on the spot.
It has been stated in a recent announcement made by Microsoft that the “Q&A” feature will be deprecated in December 2026. In the near future, Power BI Copilot will be introduced in the place of “Q&A” with a powerful feature for users.
For more information on how to improve your Power BI reports using AI, you can also check out this beginner’s guide:
Copilot in Microsoft Fabric: A Strategic Overview – Power BI Training Australia
In this article, we are going to discuss how Q&A works in Power BI, how we can utilize the recommendation feature, and finally how we can understand the upcoming change for Power BI users: Power BI Q&A to Copilot.
Using Q&A to Explore Data
Q&A in Power BI allows users to explore the data they are working with by asking questions in a natural language format. Instead of creating a visual, you can ask a question like “What is the total revenue?” or “What are sales by product line?” and Power BI will automatically create a visualization of the correct type.
Steps to Use Q&A in Power BI
- In Power BI Desktop, go to the Visualizations pane on the right side of the report canvas.
2. Select the Q&A Visual icon from the list of visuals.
3. A question box appears on the report canvas.
4. Place your cursor in the question box and type Total Revenue.
5. Power BI will automatically create a card visual displaying the result.
6. Press Enter on your keyboard to save the visual created from your question.
This feature is very useful for business users who want to get quick insights without creating visuals.
Using Power BI’s Recommendation Engine for Questions
Power BI has a recommendation engine that recommends questions that can be asked about the data. This is very useful as users can ask questions that provide deeper insights into the data that they might not have thought of initially.
Steps to Use the Recommendation Engine
- Publish your Power BI Desktop (.pbix) file to Power BI Service.
- Open the Power BI Service.
- Open your Workspace.
- Open the report you created.
- Create a dashboard by pining the visuals from your report pages.
- Click on any visual and then click on Pin to a dashboard on the bar at the top.
- Click on Pin to New dashboard.
- Name the Dashboard as Revenue Dashboard.
- Click Pin Live.
10. Click Ask a question about your data.
You will be directed to the Q&A interface, where Power BI suggests possible questions based on your dataset.
11. Click on top segment by revenue.
This recommendation engine helps users quickly identify important trends, high-performing products, and key metrics in their data.
Important Update: Q&A Deprecation (December 2026)
Microsoft has announced that the Q&A feature will be deprecated in December 2026. After this date, Microsoft will focus on Power BI Copilot as the primary natural language experience for data exploration.
What Features Will Be Affected
The deprecation will impact several Q&A-related experiences, including:
- Q&A in Reports
Report authors can currently add Q&A visuals or Q&A buttons that allow users to interact with data using natural language directly inside reports.
- Q&A in Dashboards
Dashboards in Power BI Service include a feature known as a question box where users can ask questions about the data.
In Power BI Mobile App, this feature is referred to as Q&A Virtual Analyst.
- Q&A in Embedded Analytics
The developers can add this feature to their applications through API or embedded tokens.
- Q&A Setup Tools
The Power BI authoring tool includes a number of tools that help authors improve Q&A in Power BI, such as:
- Synonyms.
- Linguistic relationships.
- Row labels.
- Hide from Q&A.
- Teach Q&A.
- Review questions.
- Suggested questions.
These tools are used to help Power BI better understand user queries.
Final Thoughts
The Q&A feature has been a useful tool for enabling natural language data exploration in Power BI. It allows users to quickly ask questions and generate visuals without complex modelling or DAX.
However, with the introduction of Power BI Copilot, Microsoft is moving toward a more advanced AI-driven analytics experience with a move fromPower BI Q&A to Copilot. While Q&A will remain available until December 2026, organizations should begin preparing to adopt Copilot as the primary way to explore data using natural language.
FAQs
The Q&A feature in Power BI allows users to explore data using natural language questions. Instead of manually creating visuals, users can type queries such as “Total Revenue by Product” and Power BI automatically generates the appropriate visualization.
Power BI Q&A uses natural language processing (NLP) to interpret user questions and translate them into queries against the dataset. Based on the question, Power BI automatically creates visuals such as cards, charts, or tables to display the results.
Q&A can be used in multiple places within Power BI, including:
- Power BI Reportsthrough a Q&A visual.
- Power BI Dashboardsvia the question box.
- Power BI Mobile Appas the Q&A virtual analyst.
- Embedded Power BI applicationsthrough APIs.
Extended Learning & References
For more in-depth learning and advanced Power BI training, enrol in
- Microsoft 365 Copilot Training Courses – Practical Learning for Modern Work
- Power BI Advanced Training Course.
- Power BI Report Design
- Power BI Essentials
- Power BI DAX Essentials
- Power BI Service Course
Here, you can access detailed courses and resources designed to enhance your Power BI skills and take your reporting capabilities to the next level.
