Report Builder AI
The Report Builder is an AI assistant that builds and changes reports. You describe what you want in the AI panel of a report you can edit; it plans the work, makes the changes and shows you what it did. To build a report by hand, see Build a report.
Open the Report Builder
- Open a report you can edit and choose Edit.
- Open the AI panel on the right and pick Report Builder in the segmented row at its top. The row also offers Model AI, which works on the report's semantic model.
- Describe what to build or change in the message box and send it. You can also drag an image into the box to hand it to the assistant.
The panel remembers your last choice between the two sides; the first time it opens, it starts on Report Builder. A side you cannot use is not shown, and if only one side is left, the chooser becomes a plain label.
Ask for work
- Small asks apply to the report directly.
- A big job shows a plan card first. A job is big when it adds a new page, makes more than 3 visuals, or rebuilds a report from a screenshot or a sketch.
- The plan card lists what the job will do: the pages and visuals it will make, the slicers it will set, the measures it will request from Model AI, the custom visuals it will prepare, and anything it will delete or overwrite. You can edit the plan, and the job runs once you approve it.
- Deleting or overwriting something the plan did not list still asks for your approval.
- The report is saved as a version before the job starts, and it writes a version whose name begins with Report AI: after each finished page and at the end of the job, so you can always go back. See Save a report, resolve conflicts and restore versions.
Choose how changes are approved
Pick the acceptance mode in the message box. It sets how much of the job is checked with you:
| Mode | What it does |
|---|
| Auto-accept | The default. A big job shows its plan once for approval and then runs; small asks apply directly. |
| Manual | Every change waits for your approval. |
| Unrestricted | Skips the plan and the approvals. |
A shield icon shows while Auto-accept or Unrestricted is on.
Follow a running job
- When a job starts it says "I'm starting; you can go elsewhere, just don't close the browser". You can move around DataMind while it runs; if the browser closes, the job is parked with the status "paused: no browser" and resumes when you open DataMind again.
- When the job finishes, or needs you, you get a notification in the app, a badge on the tab title and, once you allow it, a desktop notification. The permission is asked on the first job that runs in the background.
- The AI Activity pill in the top bar follows the job, with Stop and Open. It turns amber when a question parks the job; click it to open the report at the question. While a step is with Model AI, the pill says it is waiting for Model AI.
- The job view holds the whole run: a timeline of who did what, with the model, tokens, cost and time of each step, and a graph of the agents and the hand-offs between them. Mention one agent with @ to send it a message.
- A step that previews a custom visual waits until the report's tab is open again ("Custom Visual AI is waiting for the tab").
- Anyone who can edit the report can stop a running job, from the job view or from the pill. Starting the job, answering its questions and approving its work belong to the person who asked.
- A large job runs as several agents, one for each page, and closes with an automatic check of the finished pages for overlaps, query errors, empty visuals and number mistakes.
- When it is done, the job is kept with the report as how this report was built.
What the Report Builder changes
Everything inside the open report: pages, visuals of every type, including Text box and Image, field wells, options, limits, slicers of every style, page and visual filters, interactions, layout, the theme and the report's assets.
Two things stay outside its reach:
- A viewer's own state stays with the viewer: expanded rows and drill state, saved column widths and a map's camera are not part of the report the assistant edits.
- A custom visual's code is never edited. The assistant can place the visual, bind its fields, change its options and add its assets like any other tile, but the code belongs to whoever wrote the visual; see Custom visuals and the visual library.
You can also start a report from a description with New report with AI in the report list, ask it to rebuild a report from a screenshot or a sketch, or choose Review my report to have the finished pages checked on demand.
Models
The Report Builder runs on Kartlos Premium by default. You can switch it to Kartlos Standard, and the agents it starts follow your choice. For each custom visual it prepares, it names the model it will use and its reason, and the cost estimate sits on the plan card, where you can change the pick before you approve. The check of the finished pages runs on Kartlos Premium.
Permissions
The Report Builder needs the Use DataPrism AI permission and edit access to the report. You do not need edit access to the semantic model: when a job needs a new measure, the plan asks Model AI for it, and Model AI keeps its own gate.
- Preparing a new custom visual also needs the Author DataPrism Custom Visuals permission, unless the tile matches a visual already published in the library.
- While you view as another user, the Report Builder can read the report with you, but it cannot change anything.
See Who can do what in DataPrism.
Limits and edge cases
- One job runs at a time per report. Everyone who can edit the report shares its thread and can watch the job; a copy of the report starts with an empty thread.
- There is no token budget and no cap on how much work runs at once. Two safety rules remain: at most 2 custom visual steps run together, and a job that repeats the same error 5 times, or takes 20 steps with no change to the report, stops itself with "I'm stuck, here's why" instead of looping.
- A request that needs a new measure goes to Model AI as part of the plan. Without access to Model AI, the Report Builder works with the fields the model already has and says what is missing.
Questions, answered
What is the difference between the Report Builder and Model AI?
They are the two sides of the same AI panel. Report Builder works on the report: pages, visuals, filters, layout and theme. Model AI works on the semantic model the report reads from: measures, columns, tables, relationships and tests. See Model AI.
Can I close the browser while the Report Builder works?
No. You can move around DataMind or switch tabs while the job runs, but closing the browser parks it. The status reads "paused: no browser", and the job resumes when you open DataMind again.
What happens when the job needs an answer from me?
The AI Activity pill turns amber, and you get an in-app notification, a badge on the tab and, if you allowed it, a desktop notification. Click the pill to open the report at the question; the job waits there for you.
Why did the Report Builder stop and say it is stuck?
It guards against loops: when the same error repeats 5 times, or 20 steps pass with no change to the report, it stops with "I'm stuck, here's why". Read the reason it gives, adjust your request and send it again.
Can two people run jobs on the same report?
One job runs at a time per report, and everyone who can edit the report shares its thread. Other editors can watch a running job and stop it; starting a job, answering its questions and approving its work belong to the person who asked. A copy of the report starts with an empty thread.
Can I make the Report Builder ask before every change?
Yes. Pick Manual as the acceptance mode and every change waits for your approval. Auto-accept is the default, and Unrestricted skips the plan and the approvals altogether.
Does the Report Builder create new measures itself?
No. When a job needs a measure the model does not have, the plan lists it as a request to Model AI. If you cannot use Model AI, the assistant builds with the fields the model already has and says what is missing.
Does the Report Builder edit a custom visual's code?
No. It can place a custom visual, bind its fields, change its options and add its assets, but it never edits the code itself. To change the code, open the tile's Studio; see The custom visual Studio.
Where can I see how a report was built?
The job view holds the whole run: a timeline with each step's model, tokens, cost and time, and a graph of the agents and hand-offs. The finished job stays with the report as how this report was built.
Which model does the Report Builder run on?
Kartlos Premium by default. You can switch it to Kartlos Standard, and the agents it starts follow your choice. The check of the finished pages runs on Kartlos Premium.