AI Chatbot documentation

    Install the visual, activate it with a licence key and, if you like, connect your own AI provider. Plans and prices are on the AI Chatbot page; how the 30-day Professional trial works is on Licensing and trials. Every format-pane setting is listed in Fields and settings.

    1. Install the Visual from Microsoft Marketplace

    AI Chatbot is published on Microsoft Marketplace as SmartVisuals AI Chatbot. Open the listing and click "Get it now", or search for "SmartVisuals" in the Power BI visuals gallery, then click "Add" to install it. You can also download the .pbiviz file and import it manually.

    2. Optional: Use Your Own AI API Key

    With a license key the chat works straight away on SmartVisuals AI (included), no API key needed. If you prefer your own AI account, choose your provider under AI Provider in the format pane and paste an API key from one of these:

    3. Enter Your License Key

    After adding the visual to your report, open the visual's format pane in Power BI. Navigate to the "License" section and enter your SmartVisuals license key. You can get a free license from our AI Chatbot page or purchase a paid plan from your dashboard.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    No. With a license key, questions run on SmartVisuals AI (included) and count toward your plan's monthly messages. Bring your own key if you want questions billed to your own AI account: OpenAI, xAI and Azure OpenAI calls then go directly from the browser to the provider, while Anthropic and Google calls pass through the SmartVisuals relay, which does not store them.

    With SmartVisuals AI (included) there is no separate API bill; questions count toward your plan's monthly messages. With your own key, costs depend on your chosen provider. Typical query costs $0.001-0.01. Most users spend $1-5/month on API calls.

    You can ask questions and receive answers in any language. The UI is available in English, Czech, German, Spanish, and French.

    Enable DAX Assistant mode in the hamburger menu. When active, the AI generates DAX measures based on your natural language description and the columns you added to the visual. It needs a Starter plan or higher.

    Response time depends on your AI provider and query complexity. Try a faster model (for example GPT-5.4 mini or GPT-5.4 nano instead of GPT-5.5) for quicker responses.

    Make sure you have dragged at least one field into the Data or Values field well in Power BI.

    Troubleshooting

    "Invalid API key"

    Verify your key is correct and has sufficient credits. Make sure you're using the right key format for your selected AI provider.

    "Network error"

    Check your firewall/proxy settings. The visual needs access to smartvisuals-api.vercel.app (license check, SmartVisuals AI, and the relay for Anthropic and Google keys) and, with your own OpenAI, xAI or Azure OpenAI key, to api.openai.com, api.x.ai or your-resource.openai.azure.com.

    "License expired"

    Renew your license at smartvisuals.io/dashboard

    Accessibility

    TabMoves between the message box, the send button and the menu button.
    EnterSends the question typed in the message box.
    Shift+EnterStarts a new line in the message box without sending.
    Enter or SpaceOpens the link on the license screen and the call to action under Instant Insights.
    EscapeCloses the conversation history window and the chart image window.
    Ctrl+KClears the chat (Terminal theme only).
    Ctrl+LMoves focus back to the message box (Terminal theme only).
    • Reduced motion — When the operating system asks for reduced motion, animations and transitions inside the visual are switched off. Message animations are also off by default (Interface > Enable Animations).
    • High contrast — When the system asks for more contrast, every message gets a solid outline. Buttons and text fields show a 2px focus outline in the text colour. Colours otherwise follow the selected theme; the visual does not switch to the Power BI high-contrast palette.
    • Screen readers — Questions and answers are plain text on the page, in reading order. The conversation history opens as a labelled modal dialog, and the menu and send buttons carry their names in the interface language.
    • Context menu — Right-click (or the context-menu key) on the chat opens the Power BI context menu. Inside the message box you get the normal text menu for copy and paste.
    • Languages — The interface is in English, Czech, German, French and Spanish (Language > Interface Language). Answers follow the language of your question, or the Chat Language you set.