Ask questions in plain English

Natural language queries let people type a question in everyday words, such as which campaign brought the most leads last month, and get a chart, an answer or a database query back from their own data. Databox, Looker Studio and Tableau are among the tools that offer this.

Most people in a business cannot write database queries and wait for an analyst when they want a number. Asking in plain English shortens that wait and lets more people check the data themselves. The answers can still be wrong, because the tool may misread the question or the data. It matters most where many non-technical people need numbers. A small team with a few fixed reports may not need it.

• Ask which data sources the questions can run against, and whether they cover your own.
• Test it with five questions whose answers you already know and compare the results.
• Check whether the tool shows how it worked out an answer, such as the query or the fields used.
• Find out whether this feature is on your plan or needs a higher tier or an extra.