BI News

May 11, 2026 - Looker Conversational GA, Sigma Builder Updates

Within the Apr 27–May 11, 2026 window, I found confirmed analyst-facing BI/AI feature updates for Looker and Sigma. For the other platforms, the latest public feature notes I could verify were outside the window or not precisely dateable into it. (cloud.google.com [https://cloud.google.com/looker/docs/release-notes]) Looker - May 7, 2026: In the announced Looker 26.8 update, Conversational Analytics Advanced Analytics moved to general availability. Rollout was scheduled to start May 10, 2026 for Looker (original) and May 11, 2026 for Looker (Google Cloud core). (cloud.google.com [https://cloud.google.com/looker/docs/release-notes]) - May 7, 2026: Looker added a preview for Conversational Analytics data agents on user-defined dashboards. (cloud.google.com [https://cloud.google.com/looker/docs/release-notes]) - May 7, 2026: Looker added a preview to publish Conversational Analytics data agents to Gemini Enterprise. (cloud.google.com [https://cloud.google.com/looker/docs/release-notes]) - May 7, 2026: Dashboard download controls became more configurable: editors can set default row and column limits for tile downloads, and viewers can adjust those values when downloading. (cloud.google.com [https://cloud.google.com/looker/docs/release-notes]) - May 7, 2026: Conversational Analytics gained support for querying Looker Explores in Development Mode. (cloud.google.com [https://cloud.google.com/looker/docs/release-notes]) Power BI - No qualifying updates in the last 14 days that I could verify. The latest public feature summary I found was the April 22, 2026 update, which is outside the requested window. (europe.powerbi.microsoft.com [https://europe.powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-april-2026-feature-summary/]) Tableau - No qualifying update I could confirm in the last 14 days. Tableau’s public materials show an April 2026 release, but the feature page does not expose a precise release date; the dated Tableau blog post I found that references that release is April 25, 2026, just outside the window. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/products/new-features]) Metabase - No qualifying updates in the last 14 days that I could verify. The latest public feature release I found was Metabase 60 on April 16, 2026, outside the window. (metabase.com [https://www.metabase.com/releases/metabase-60?from_page=blog&utm_source=openai]) Sigma - May 1, 2026: Sigma updated global search so that, when an organization has configured an AI provider, search uses semantic search. This is the only clearly AI-facing item in the window. (community.sigmacomputing.com [https://community.sigmacomputing.com/t/whats-new-in-sigma-may-1-2026/6784]) - May 1, 2026: Several workbook-building elements reached GA: repeated container, single row container, and value list. These are layout/reporting features for record-based views and dynamic detail panes. (community.sigmacomputing.com [https://community.sigmacomputing.com/t/whats-new-in-sigma-may-1-2026/6784]) - May 1, 2026: Sigma added dynamic chart axis ranges driven by formulas or controls, autofit columns for tables, and more control over stacked bar chart data labels. (https://community.sigmacomputing.com/t/whats-new-in-sigma-may-1-2026/6784

April 27, 2026 - Power BI, Sigma, and Tableau AI Updates

In the last 14 days, I found clear qualifying BI/AI feature updates for Power BI, Sigma, and Tableau. For the other platforms, the latest public release material I found was either outside the Apr 13–27, 2026 window or limited to minor fixes that I excluded. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/sv-se/blog/power-bi-april-2026-feature-summary/]) Looker - No qualifying updates found in the last 14 days. In Google’s public Looker release notes, the surfaced entries I found were older, with no Apr 13–27, 2026 analyst-facing feature items visible. (docs.cloud.google.com [https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/release-notes?utm_source=openai]) Power BI - Apr 22, 2026: In-report Copilot on Power BI mobile now supports open-ended follow-up chat against the current report, can generate AI-created visuals, includes citations back to report visuals, and adds voice dictation on iPhone/iPad. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/sv-se/blog/power-bi-april-2026-feature-summary/]) - Apr 22, 2026: The modern visual defaults preview adds a base-theme switcher for updating or reverting report themes, plus preset canvas sizes for common aspect ratios. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/sv-se/blog/power-bi-april-2026-feature-summary/]) - Apr 22, 2026: Card, button slicer, and list slicer visuals now support a fixed-size layout mode, so authors can specify exact pixel dimensions instead of auto-fitting items. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/sv-se/blog/power-bi-april-2026-feature-summary/]) - Apr 22, 2026: The April modeling preview adds Direct Lake calculated columns/tables and user-context-aware calculated columns for scenarios like data translations. Microsoft says Direct Lake service rollout is still deploying over the next few weeks, so availability may lag the announcement. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/sv-se/blog/power-bi-april-2026-feature-summary/]) Tableau - Date note: Tableau’s public materials identify this as the April 2026 release, and Tableau was still promoting that release on Apr 25, 2026; the exact ship date is not shown on the main feature page, so inclusion in the 14-day window is a best-effort inference from Tableau’s own release surfacing. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/blog/datafam-roundup-april-2026?utm_source=openai]) - April 2026 release: Tableau Next MCP is generally available, allowing MCP-compatible AI apps to query Tableau data and metadata through Tableau’s analytics engine. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/products/new-features]) - April 2026 release: Inspector in Slack is in beta, sending natural-language metric-threshold alerts into Slack DMs and allowing follow-up questions from there. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/products/new-features]) - April 2026 release: Tableau added agent-governance controls in Concierge: semantic-model scoping and page-filter visibility are GA, while Q&A Calibration is beta for testing and tuning agent responses. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/products/new-features]) - April 2026 release: The Tableau App for Microsoft 365 is GA for Tableau Cloud and Server, letting users embed dashboard/Pulse snapshots in Word and PowerPoint and refresh them later. Tableau’s March 16 blog described Word/PowerPoint support as public preview, so GA status appears to be new in the April release. (https://www.tableau.com/products/new-feature

April 13, 2026 - GoodData, Tableau, and Qlik Update Roundup

Only a few vendors published clearly in-window AI/BI feature updates between March 30 and April 13, 2026. The strongest qualifying items came from GoodData, Tableau, and Qlik; the other platforms did not show public, in-window updates that met your filters. (gooddata.com [https://www.gooddata.com/docs/cloud/whats-new-cloud/]) Looker - No qualifying updates in the last 14 days. The newest relevant official Looker release-note entries I found are dated March 25, 2026 and earlier, which is outside the requested window. (docs.cloud.google.com [https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/docs/release-notes]) Power BI - No qualifying updates in the last 14 days. The main monthly Power BI feature summary for the current cycle was published March 15, 2026, and the collaboration/integration page also lists these as March 2026 features rather than April updates. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/de-at/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/?utm_source=openai]) Tableau - April 2026 release: Tableau Next MCP is marked generally available. Tableau says it lets AI agents query Tableau’s analytics engine directly; the hard product fact is that Tableau is exposing MCP-based access in Tableau Next. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/products/new-features]) - April 2026 release: Inspector in Slack is in beta. It sends proactive natural-language alerts in Slack DMs after a metric threshold breach and supports follow-up questions. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/products/new-features]) - April 2026 release: Concierge gained tighter control over AI answers: semantic model scope/allowlisting and page-filter visibility are GA, while Q&A Calibration is beta. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/products/new-features]) - April 2026 release: The Tableau App for Microsoft 365 is GA for Tableau Cloud and Server, adding dashboard and Pulse embedding into Word and PowerPoint with one-click refresh. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/products/new-features]) - April 2026 release: Tableau added BI workflow improvements for Pulse in dashboards: Pulse metrics can now appear in dashboard image exports and subscriptions, and embedded Pulse metrics can respond to dashboard filters. (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/products/new-features]) Metabase - No qualifying updates in the last 14 days. The latest major release I found is Metabase 59, published March 5, 2026, which is outside the window. (metabase.com [https://www.metabase.com/releases/metabase-59]) Sigma - No qualifying updates in the last 14 days. The newest public Sigma “What’s New” entries I found are March 20, 2026 and March 9, 2026, both outside the window. (community.sigmacomputing.com [https://community.sigmacomputing.com/t/whats-new-in-sigma-march-20-2026/6689]) Qlik - April 7, 2026 (technical preview for May 2026, Qlik Sense Enterprise on Windows): Qlik added several analyst-facing BI improvements, including inline images in text objects, an image plugin for line charts, scatter-plot plugin support, drag-and-drop column reordering in straight tables, measure-based header coloring, and a new pivot-table exploration menu. This is a technical preview, not a GA cloud release.

March 30, 2026 - Power BI Task Flows and Modeling Updates

I found one clear in-window product update set that fits your filter: Power BI’s March 18, 2026 feature update. For the other platforms, I did not find qualifying analyst-facing AI/BI feature releases published between March 16 and March 30, 2026, or the public items I found were outside the window or were support/maintenance notes rather than feature updates. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) Looker - No qualifying updates found in the last 14 days. The public Looker release notes surfaced by Google were last updated January 2, 2026, and the visible feature entries were older than this window. (docs.cloud.google.com [https://docs.cloud.google.com/looker/release-notes?utm_source=openai]) Power BI - March 18, 2026: Microsoft published the Power BI March 2026 Feature Summary. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) - AI: The Copilot pane in Reports and Apps got a UI refresh to match the standalone Copilot experience; Microsoft says functionality is unchanged. This is a UX change, not a new analytic capability. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) - AI: The Copilot feedback dialog now lets users attach diagnostics to feedback submissions, which may help support and product triage. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) - AI/reporting: The AI Narrative visual can now auto-refresh when slicer selections change, removing the need to manually refresh the narrative after each filter change. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) - Reporting/workflows: Translytical task flows reached general availability, allowing report users to update records, add data, or trigger workflows from inside reports. Supported writeback targets called out by Microsoft include Fabric SQL databases, warehouses, and lakehouses for files. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) - Reporting/visual design: Modern visual defaults and theme customization improvements entered preview, adding a new default visual style, updated base theme behavior, and reusable structural colors/page sizing in themes. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) - Reporting/tables: Custom totals entered preview, letting authors override a table or matrix total’s aggregation at the visual level without changing the underlying DAX measure. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) - Visualizations: Series label leader lines were added for line charts and related visuals to improve label readability in dense charts. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) - Reporting/filters: Input slicer now supports conditional formatting for text, icons, borders, backgrounds, and accent bars. (powerbi.microsoft.com [https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-march-2026-feature-summary/]) - Modeling: Direct Lake in OneLake reached general availability

March 17, 2026 - Mid-March BI Product Updates

Here are the BI- and AI-related feature updates from March 3–17, 2026: Looker - Mar 6, 2026: CSV connector enhancements (originally Pro-only) are now generally available to all Looker Studio users, improving data ingestion workflows (releasebot.io [https://releasebot.io/updates/google/looker-studio]) Power BI - No qualifying AI or BI feature updates have been published between March 3 and March 17, 2026. Tableau (Version 2026.1, released Mar 3, 2026 (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/support/releases?utm_source=openai])) AI features - AI-assisted Color Palettes: GA in Tableau Desktop when signed into a Tableau Agent-enabled site, enabling natural-language-driven palette generation with contrast/accessibility checks (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) - Tableau Agent – Dashboard Narratives (Beta): now open beta in Tableau Cloud, providing AI-generated dashboard overviews and chart-level insights (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) - Tableau Pulse – Enhanced Q&A Correlation: GA in Tableau+ Cloud, surfacing statistically grounded metric correlations across data sources with narrative explanations (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) - Data Pro: Auto-Generate Semantic Models from Workspaces (Beta): creates semantic layers via natural-language prompts directly from Tableau Next Workspaces (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) BI features - REST API Connector GA in Tableau Server, Desktop, and Prep, allowing direct connection to REST endpoints without custom code (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) - Google Looker Connector GA across Cloud, Desktop, and Prep, enabling visualization of governed Looker data in Tableau (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) - View Data Model Enhancements: hovering over pills highlights source tables in the data model view for immediate lineage visualization (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) - Smart Filter on Table Name: supports exact-name filtering (“T:” syntax) in large data models for faster table selection (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) - Image Export Improvements: image downloads and subscriptions now render Visual and Dashboard Extensions and Pulse objects accurately in Cloud (rolling out through March) (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) - Rounded Corners: Dashboard and component corner radii can now be set directly in Desktop and Web Authoring for modern layouts (tableau.com [https://www.tableau.com/newfeatures/version6]) Metabase (Metabase 59, Mar 2026) - Data Studio: introduced an analyst workbench for defining/curating a semantic layer and shaping data tables with SQL or Python transforms, integrating AI-driven code suggestions via Metabot (metabase.com [https://www.metabase.com/releases]) - AI SQL generation in Open Source: single-prompt SQL code generation in self-hosted instances via Metabot (metabase.com [https://www.metabase.com/releases]) - Dependencies graph: visualize object dependencies and impact before changes to dashboards, queries, or data models (metabase.com [https://www.metabase.com/releases]) - Semantic library: publish curated tables and metrics as source-of-truth artifacts with Git sync support (metabase.com [https://www.metabase.com/releases]) - Boxplot chart: new visualization type for distribution analysis (metabase.com [https://www.metabase.com/releases])  Sigma  (March 6, 2026)  - Scheduled action sequences (Beta): define and run multi-step workflows (notifi