Issue with Power BI Service after Publishing: AI splits not supported with Live Connection

[Rufyda]

Hi Microsoft Fabric Community,

I’m facing an issue with my Power BI project. After building my report using a Live Connection to SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) and publishing it to Power BI Service, I encountered the following message when sharing the report link with my team:

"AI splits are currently unsupported both for models using Live Connection to either Azure Analysis Services or SQL Server Analysis Services and for complex measures in the 'Analyze' field group (such as % of grand total and measures from extension schemas)."

The report works perfectly fine in Power BI Desktop, but when accessing it through Power BI Service, this message appears, and the expected visual insights are not displayed.

Details:

• Connection Type: Live Connection
  
  
  • Data Source: SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS)
    
    
    • Usage: Complex measures such as % of Grand Total
      
      
      • Goal: Leverage AI splits for smart data analysis
        
        

        My Questions:

        • Is there any way to enable AI splits support when using Live Connection?
          
          
          • Are there any recommended alternatives to achieve similar analytical insights in Power BI Service?
            
            
            • If I switch to Import mode, will AI splits be fully supported?
              
              

              I’d appreciate any guidance, solutions, or experiences you can share. Thanks in advance for your help.

              

              Microsoft Power BI

[ArwaAldoud · Accepted solution]

Hi @Rufyda 

AI features like splits, smart narratives, and 'Explain the Increase/Decrease' don’t work with Live Connections to SSAS or Azure Analysis Services because Power BI can’t directly analyze externally managed data. They also don’t support complex measures (e.g., '% of grand total') or Power BI Report Server. To use these AI tools, switch your report to Import mode—this lets Power BI access the data fully but requires manual refreshes. Note: Even in Import mode, visuals like the decomposition tree have limits (50 levels max, 5,000 data points)

check this link for Considerations and limitations

If this response was helpful, please accept it as a solution and give kudos to help other community members.

[Rufyda · Accepted solution]

Hi everyone,

I found the solution to my issue with AI splits not working in Power BI Service.The reason was using a Live Connection to SSAS, which doesn’t support AI splits, decomposition tree, or smart narratives.

 Switch the report to Import Mode in Power BI Desktop and then publish it. This allows full AI functionality.

Hope this helps anyone facing the same issue!

[ArwaAldoud · Accepted solution]

Hi @Rufyda 

AI features like splits, smart narratives, and 'Explain the Increase/Decrease' don’t work with Live Connections to SSAS or Azure Analysis Services because Power BI can’t directly analyze externally managed data. They also don’t support complex measures (e.g., '% of grand total') or Power BI Report Server. To use these AI tools, switch your report to Import mode—this lets Power BI access the data fully but requires manual refreshes. Note: Even in Import mode, visuals like the decomposition tree have limits (50 levels max, 5,000 data points)

check this link for Considerations and limitations

If this response was helpful, please accept it as a solution and give kudos to help other community members.

[shafiz_p]

Hi  @Rufyda ,

AI split in Power BI not supported for on-premises SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS).

Check out the consideration and limitation in the given link:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/visuals/power-bi-visualization-decomposition-tree 

https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Desktop/Decomposite-AI-split-not-supported/m-p/850836 

 

AI splits in Power BI are indeed supported when using Import mode. AI Split of Decomposition Tree best works with the simple measure and make sure it is not in mix mode like direct or live.

Hope this helps!!