Copilot and Metadata

[Msuae98]

Hello, we are considering implementing Copilot in PowerBI and I had a few questions on Copilot and metadata that I can't seem to find through documentation or other forum posts. Upon reading the copilot PowerBI documentation, there is a bit of information on this topic, but I was hoping for more clarification; it states that one should "Document the structure of the data model, including tables, columns, relationships, and measures, for reference ", and should add "A data dictionary or model diagram provided as a reference." We are mainly looking for copilot to be able to answer questions and provide summaries and clarification including metadata/data dictionaries, etc. Is copilot able to do this currently? And if so, does it need to be pointed at a dictionary that it can read/how is that performed? Or does it just read descriptions/metadata manually input into PowerBI? Thank you! 

[SaiTejaTalasila]

Hi @Anonymous ,

It is not understanding your question as per understanding.You need to elobrate the sentence and need to mention what is required for you.

Thanks,

Sai Teja 

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi,@Msuae98 

My answer to your question is as follows:

1.Currently copilot is able to answer questions and provide summaries and descriptions, including metadata/data dictionaries, etc. But in my real-world testing, he's only able to do a description of the data for now.

2.Here are my real-world test results:

And it can be described differently depending on the table.

3.Note that the documentation mentions that to access Copilot in the Power BI service, the workspace must be running on at least F64 or advanced capacity. To generate summary insights in a report, you need to have at least read access to the workspace or application permissions. To create narrative visual objects and generate Copilot reports, you need to have Edit access to the workspace. Copilot panes are available to free users in Power BI applications as long as the workspace is compatible with Copilot.

To use Copilot in Power BI Desktop, you need to have Edit access to a workspace in the Power BI service that is located on at least F64 or Power BI Premium.
4.The following are links to related documents, hope to help you:
Overview of Copilot for Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Create reports in the Power BI service with Copilot - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Use Copilot in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Update your data model to work well with Copilot for Power BI - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Ask Copilot questions about data in the model (preview) - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Overview of Copilot for Data Science and Data Engineering in Microsoft Fabric (preview) - Microsoft ...

Best Regards,

Leroy Lu

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.

[Msuae98]

Thank you very much! This is very detailed and helpful! One final question if I may, is your data dictionary/metadata just stored in powerBI itself? And if so, are you pointing copilot to it? 

[Anonymous]

HI,@Msuae98 

Here are my answers to your questions:

1.Our data dictionary/metadata is stored in powerBI itself.

Here is the official documentation:

Using enhanced semantic model metadata in Power BI Desktop - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

The documentation states, “Previously, metadata was stored in a format specific to Power BI Desktop. Metadata used Base64 encoded M expressions and data sources. Power BI made assumptions about how metadata was stored. With the release of the Enhanced Semantic Model Metadata feature, many of these limitations have been removed. PBIX files are automatically upgraded to the enhanced metadata when you open them.”

2.In my last reply you tried to point copilot to the data dictionary/metadata, not that I need to manually go and enter the data.

As I said before, in my real-world testing, it's not yet able to describe the metadata down to the columns and rows, only the general data structure.

If I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best Regards,

Leroy Lu

If this post helps, then please consider Accept it as the solution to help the other members find it more quickly.