Unlocking AI for Power BI & Business Intelligence Skills

July 17, 2024 · Tommy Puglia

I have been lucky enough to be in the Business Intelligence space for the past 9 years with a focus on Power BI and the amazing application it has for organizations. I have been a Data Analyst, a Director of Business Intelligence, and now lead my own Consulting firm. In just this span, I have seen incredible change, growth, and evolution of how people and organizations act and react with their data.

There has always been a skills venn diagram, if you will, around what is expected of a “data person” and what we need to do. Consider BI & Visuals, BI & Data Engineering, etc. What are organizations looking for with the tools out there?

This leads to the origin of this website. I am a strong contender for the “reason for being” of any entity that exists online or in the world. If I were to write a blog, what content would be more informative than what is already out there? Especially in the Power BI space. I hate redundancy.

The Next Phase

We are entering the next phase of technology and business intelligence with prompting and AI, where data is no longer a passive resource, but an active partner in your decision making. By leveraging the power of prompting and AI, you can unlock the full potential of your data and turn it into actionable insights that drive your business forward.

So how does prompting and AI fit into this picture? Prompting is the art of asking the right questions to elicit the best answers from your data. It is a skill that requires creativity, domain knowledge, and analytical thinking. AI is the technology that can help you generate, refine, and optimize your prompts, as well as provide insights and suggestions based on your data. Together, they can transform the way you interact with your data and create powerful business intelligence solutions.

Consider this comparison: Imagine you’re at an upscale Italian eatery where they inquire about your preferences without offering a menu. If you just request “Pasta,” they will present you with a pleasant pasta dish that might be to your liking.

However, if you specify a southern Italian seafood dish or opt for a variety with diverse cheeses and a delicate sauce, not only will you receive a meal that’s better suited to your palate, but you’ll also provide the chef with precise guidance on your culinary expectations.

flowchart LR
  Vague["Vague prompt: 'Pasta'"] --> Generic["A fine, generic dish"]
  Specific["Specific prompt: 'Southern Italian seafood, light sauce'"] --> Tailored["Exactly what you wanted"]

Prompting and AI are not only useful for creating visuals and reports, but also for exploring new possibilities and scenarios. You can use prompting and AI to ask “what if” questions, to test hypotheses, to discover patterns and trends, and to uncover hidden opportunities and risks. You can also use prompting and AI to automate and streamline your data workflows, to enhance your data quality and governance, and to scale your data solutions across your organization.

I hope you start to understand the significance of our trajectory. In any sector, one could exclaim “WHAT??” with confidence, especially in Business Intelligence, where experts are expected to comprehend, possess, and administer data. And let’s not forget that AI operates on DATA.

What to Expect

We are hitting a threshold of the next generation of Power BI / BI Pros: The ability to curate, utilize, and prompt using Generative AI. Make no mistake, AI is not leaving the business, or our culture, for that matter. And the skills needed in this new arena are going to be as essential as the ability to search on Google.

So how does this align with the Power BI / Microsoft Fabric Pro? The obvious is coding. Using AI for Power Query, SQL, and Notebooks in Fabric.

But there is an area that I foresee being just as imperative here. It is called Prompt Engineering. You equate this to HOW you ask AI for an answer or a solution. The ability to curate what you need from AI and the skill involved is going to be not just a “nice to have” but “must have” to what we do.

The Next Great Coding Language?

Many organizations and power users are curious about what the next programming language will be. Python has had a significant impact, and there’s widespread knowledge of DAX in our industry (though I’m looking forward to the day when searching for DAX won’t bring up German stock prices… give it a try!). But where is AI headed?

English is going to become the most potent programming language. We need to understand that the capacity to formulate and logically organize a question, command, or instruction for our future AI overlords will distinguish those who can extract truly valuable and significant outcomes from AI.