Assistant panel

IBM® Cognos® Analytics includes an embedded assistant that supports natural language text-based input to help you gain quick insights into your data and simplify your analytics. In just a few steps, you can access key data sources, create visualizations, and drag them onto your exploration or dashboard canvas. Text input is supported in English only.

Important: To use the Assistant, you must have permission to access this feature. Administrators can enable the Use Assistant capability at either the user level or source level, allowing you to use the Assistant.

Click the Assistant icon Conversation assistant icon from any view in the main toolbar to open the assistant panel.

The Assistant panel is made up of the following sections: toolbar, output, and input field.

1. Toolbar

You can run the following actions in the toolbar:

Clear chat and reset the context of the Assistant to the default source
Expand the Assistant to full screen
Close the Assistant

2. Output

The output is displayed in a scrollable area that includes responses and also provides guidance to get you started with using the Assistant.

Before you use the Assistant, you need to set the context for the Assistant by connecting it to a data source. You can choose a sample data source that is optimized for the Assistant or you can use your own data source. Click Change to change the data source that the Assistant is connected to.

To learn how to use the Assistant, click Learn more about using the Assistant and view related topics in the Learn pane.

3. Input field: The input field, labeled as Ask a question by default, is where you can enter text-based conversational input. As you enter text, a type-ahead feature offers suggestions on what you can ask. This is a great way to formulate proper questions and it saves typing.