Copilot for Power BI – Take Productivity to the Next Level

With its long history of reliability, Microsoft Power BI continues to be a go-to tool for organisations and professionals in the ever-changing field of data analytics. Power BI has made great strides forward with the release of Copilot, which integrates advanced generative AI capabilities to improve and simplify data analysis.

What is Power BI?

Power BI is a powerful suite of business analytics tools by Microsoft, designed to help organizations analyze data and share insights. It includes various components that work together to transform raw data into actionable insights.

Key Components of Power BI:

Power BI Desktop is a Windows-based application that serves as the primary tool for creating reports and data visualizations. Users can import data from various sources, transform it using the Power Query Editor, and design interactive reports and dashboards.

Power BI Service, also known as PowerBI.com, is an online SaaS component that allows users to publish and share reports created in Power BI Desktop. It facilitates collaboration among team members and provides access to reports and dashboards from anywhere via a web browser.

Power BI Mobile offers mobile applications for iOS, Android, and Windows devices, enabling users to view reports and dashboards on the go. It ensures users stay updated with notifications and alerts and allows interaction with visualizations and filters remotely.

What is Copilot in Power BI?

Copilot in Power BI is a cutting-edge AI-driven feature designed to simplify and enhance the data analysis process. Leveraging advanced generative AI capabilities, Copilot transforms how users interact with their data, making it more accessible and intuitive.

Whether you’re a seasoned data analyst or a novice, Copilot is designed to help you navigate through your data landscape by simply describing the visuals and insights you need.

Key Features of Copilot in Power BI

Conversational Data Analysis

Natural Language Queries: Users can ask questions or describe the data visualizations they need, and Copilot will generate the corresponding reports and visualizations.

Inquisitive Data Exploration: Users can directly ask their data questions in plain language and receive detailed answers, enhancing data exploration capabilities.

Quick Measure Suggestions

DAX Calculation Assistance: Copilot can suggest and generate Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) calculations, simplifying the process of creating complex formulas.

Dynamic Report Generation

Report Creation: Copilot can generate complete reports from data sets, including various visual objects like charts and graphs. This feature streamlines report creation, making it faster and more efficient.

Enhanced Accessibility

User-Friendly Interface: Even users with little experience can easily navigate through Copilot’s features, as it guides them through the data analysis process with helpful suggestions and insights.

Unified Data Foundation

Power BI, with the integration of Microsoft Fabric, standardizes on open data formats like Delta Lake and Parquet to prevent vendor lock-in and ensure consistent data quality. This unified approach helps in breaking down data silos and enhances collaboration among data engineers, data scientists, and business users.

Setting Up Copilot in Power BI: A Step-by-Step Guide

To leverage the powerful capabilities of Copilot in Power BI, administrators and users need to follow a series of steps to ensure that the feature is properly enabled and configured. Below, we outline the process of setting up Copilot in Power BI.

Prerequisites

Before you get started, make sure you have the following:

Power BI License: Write access to a workspace assigned to a paid Microsoft Fabric capacity (F64 or higher) or Power BI Premium capacity (P1 or higher) with Copilot enabled.

Administrative Rights: Access to the Power BI service as an administrator to configure tenant settings.

How to Turn On Copilot in Power BI and Using Copilot in Power BI Desktop

To get started with Copilot, you need to enable it in your Power BI environment and configure it within Power BI Desktop.

How to Turn On Copilot in Power BI

Enable Copilot in Your Tenant Settings: To enable Copilot at the tenant level, follow these steps:

• Open the Fabric Admin Portal: Navigate to the Fabric Admin portal.
• Locate Tenant Settings: Go to the Tenant settings section.
• Enable Copilot: Use the search function to find the Copilot settings. Toggle the switch to enable Copilot in Fabric.

Enable Sharing Data Across Geographic Boundaries: If Azure OpenAI isn’t available in your region, you might need to allow data to be processed outside your geographic region:

• Find the Setting: In the Fabric Admin portal, locate the setting that allows data to be processed outside your capacity’s geographic region.
• Toggle the Setting: Enable this setting if necessary.

Use Copilot for Power BI in the Service:

• Check Workspace Capacity: Ensure that reports are in a workspace with the correct capacity (Premium Power BI or paid Fabric capacity).
• Verify License Type: Check and apply the appropriate license type in the Workspace settings (either Premium or Fabric capacity).

Use Copilot in Power BI Desktop:

• Select Copilot: Open a Power BI report and select Copilot from the ribbon.
• Choose a Workspace: The Copilot pane will prompt you to select a workspace. Only workspaces that support Copilot will appear.

Note: To enable the Copilot settings, you need to have Fabric admin access.

Start Copilot in Power BI Desktop for the First Time

Using Copilot in Power BI Desktop involves selecting a Copilot-compatible workspace and interacting with the AI assistant. Follow these steps:

• Open Power BI Desktop: Launch the Power BI Desktop
• Get Data: In the ribbon, select ‘Get Data’ and choose the type of data source you want to connect to.
• Connect Data: Click ‘Connect’ to load your data into Power BI Desktop.
• Open Copilot: Click on the Copilot icon in the ribbon to open the Copilot pane in the report view.
• Select a Workspace: The first time you click the Copilot button, you’ll be prompted to pick a Copilot-compatible workspace. Select any workspace assigned to the required capacity.

Note: This doesn’t need to be the workspace where you’ll publish your report.

• Welcome Card: After selecting a workspace, you’ll see a welcome card in the Copilot pane. Click ‘Get started’ to begin interacting with Copilot.
• Workspace Access Issue: If you don’t have access to any compatible workspaces, a message will indicate this issue in the Copilot settings.

Change the Selected Workspace

If you need to change the assigned workspace to a different Copilot-compatible workspace, follow these steps:

• Open Options: Go to File > Options and settings > Options.
• Access Copilot Settings: Under Global, select the Copilot (preview) setting.
• Change Workspace: Choose a different Copilot-compatible workspace.

Conclusion

As organizations continue to integrate Copilot into their Power BI environments, they can expect significant improvements in agility, efficiency, and the depth of insights derived from their data. The future of business intelligence is here, and Copilot is at the forefront, enabling smarter and more effective data analysis.

Are you ready to unlock the full potential of Copilot in Power BI for your organization? As a Microsoft Solutions Partner, Techcronus is here to help you integrate and maximize the benefits of Copilot in your Power BI environment. Our team of experts offer tailored solutions and support to ensure a smooth transition.

Contact Techcronus for a Copilot + Power BI consultation and learn how we can assist you in leveraging Copilot to drive your business intelligence strategy forward. Get in touch now and embark on your journey to smarter data analytics with Power BI Copilot!