How to Use Power BI Smart Narrative

Power BI's Smart Narrative feature allows you to automatically generate natural language descriptions and insights based on your data visuals. This can make your reports more user-friendly and insightful. Here's how to use Power BI Smart Narrative:

Step 1: Create a Visual

1. Begin by creating a visual in your Power BI report. This could be a chart, table, or any other type of visual representation of your data.

Step 2: Add a Smart Narrative Visual

1. Select the visual you want to add a narrative to.

2. In the "Visualizations" pane on the right side of Power BI Desktop, click on the "Smart Narrative" icon (represented by a letter "A").

Step 3: Configure the Smart Narrative Visual

1. Once you've added the Smart Narrative visual, you can configure it to generate insights based on your data. In the "Values" section of the "Visualizations" pane, you'll see several options:

   • Category: Choose the field from your data that represents the category you want to analyze. This field will be used for generating insights.

   • Detail: Select a field to provide additional context or detail for the analysis.

   • Measures: Add any measures (aggregations or calculations) you want to include in the narrative.

   • Narrative Type: Choose between "Automatic" (which lets Power BI generate insights automatically) or "Custom" (which allows you to write your own narrative).

Step 4: View the Narrative

1. Once you've configured the Smart Narrative visual, you can view the generated narrative by selecting the visual on your report canvas.

2. The narrative will appear below the visual and will provide insights, trends, and explanations based on the data and configurations you've set.

Step 5: Customize the Narrative (Optional)

1. If you've chosen the "Custom" narrative type, you can write your own narrative text to provide specific insights or explanations.

2. Use the formatting options in the "Format" section of the "Visualizations" pane to style and format the narrative text to your liking.

Step 6: Interact with the Narrative

1. The Smart Narrative is interactive. You can click on different data points or categories in your visual, and the narrative will update to provide insights related to your selection.

Step 7: Publish and Share

1. Once you've added and configured the Smart Narrative visual, save your Power BI report and publish it to the Power BI service if needed.

2. Share the report with others, and they can also interact with the Smart Narrative to gain insights from your data.

By following these steps, you can effectively use Power BI's Smart Narrative feature to automatically generate natural language insights and explanations for your data visuals, enhancing the clarity and accessibility of your reports for your audience.