AI Data Assistant (AIDA)#

Starburst’s AI Data Assistant (AIDA) is a conversational analytics assistant. AIDA accepts natural language queries and translates them into SQL, then executes those queries against the data sources configured in your Starburst account. AIDA returns results in formats that best suit your query, such as summaries, observations, or grids.

AIDA lets you query data using natural language. It is designed for business users and decision-makers who want answers from their data without writing SQL, as well as analysts and data engineers who want to explore data quickly.

Note

AIDA is available as a public preview feature. Contact your Starburst account team with questions or feedback.

Requirements#

To use AIDA, you need:

  • A valid AI workflows license.

  • A valid Agentic layer license.

  • Access to at least one configured AI model.

  • Existing data products (curated datasets) that you want to analyze. Starburst recommends enriching your data products to improve answers from AIDA.

How AIDA works#

AIDA uses a large language model (LLM) to interpret your question, using the data product you select as context. When you ask AIDA a question, it:

  • Generates and executes SQL. Before producing a final answer, AIDA may return exploratory queries (such as sampling rows with a LIMIT clause) to understand the data, observe the results, and refine its approach. AIDA repeats this pattern as needed, then generates the final query against the data specified in your data product. Depending on the complexity of your question, AIDA might show you the generated SQL for review before running it.

  • Returns an answer. AIDA executes queries against live data and presents results in a readable format (for example, a summary or data grid). Depending on the persona you select, AIDA might return executive or technical summaries, key observations, implementation warnings, or recommended next steps. Responses reflect the current state of your data. AIDA does not cache results.

AIDA uses a chat-style interface that supports follow-up questions, query refinements, and requests for AIDA to explain its reasoning or the SQL it generated. This lets you explore data iteratively, without requiring you to restart the session.

AIDA only queries the datasets exposed by the data product you select. The data product provides context AIDA needs to generate accurate queries. To analyze data from a different source, switch to a data product that includes it.

Personas#

AIDA supports three personas. Each persona tailors its responses and level of detail to suit different user roles. To view the specific prompt used for each persona, click the rule icon next to the Persona menu.

Executive#

Provides high-level summaries tailored to executives and decision-makers.

  • Focuses on business insights and trends.

  • Omits technical detail unless explicitly requested.

  • Presents concise bullet points for quick understanding.

Analyst#

Offers detailed analytical summaries suitable for analysts and data scientists.

  • Includes statistical analysis and relationships in the data.

  • Adds contextual information and potential implications.

  • May include suggestions for further exploration.

Data engineer#

Provides technical summaries tailored to engineers.

  • Focuses on structure, data quality, and metadata.

  • Includes schema details, cardinality, and patterns.

  • Highlights potential data issues or anomalies.

Accessing AIDA#

To access AIDA, click AI > AIDA in the SEP navigation menu. You can also go to your SEP coordinator URL with /agent/aida appended. For example:

https://sep-coordinator.example.com/agent/aida

Using AIDA#

  1. In the AIDA UI, select a persona from the Persona menu to control the format and level of detail in AIDA’s responses. Click the rule icon next to the Persona menu to review the specific prompt used for that persona. See also, Custom persona prompts.

  2. From the Model menu, select one of your configured AI models. Click the rule icon next to the Model menu to view the existing model’s system-level prompt or configure a new one. See also, General system prompts.

  3. From the Data product menu, select the data product that you want to analyze. Click the View data product link to see the datasets contained within a data product, an overview of the data product, or usage examples.

  4. Enter a question or prompt for AIDA in the text box. For example, you can:

    • Query specific metrics or trends (What are our top-selling products? or Show me revenue by region.).

    • Explore available data (What tables do we have? or What customer data is available?).

    • Run specific analyses or create reports.

  5. Press Enter or click the send submit button. Double-check all responses provided by AIDA.

Starburst AIDA chat interface

Note

Switching AI models during an active chat session creates a new session. The previous session remains available in your schedule Chat history.

Suggested prompts#

AIDA can suggest prompts for you to run. These are inherited from the Description field provided in any usage examples that were created for the data product. Click the tips_and_updates Suggestions tab to view suggestions.

Chat history#

Use schedule Chat history to review past AIDA chat sessions, including the active persona during each session. Chat history shows the steps that AIDA performed, including any tool calls and SQL queries executed during the session. Chat sessions are deleted after 90 days.

AIDA chat sessions are tied to a specific user, not a role. Only the user who initiated the chat session can view its history.

Manage chats#

Each chat session appears in the schedule Chat history.

  • To pin a chat, hover over it and click the push_pin pin icon. Pinned chats appear at the top of your history list, sorted by most recent activity. Click the icon again to unpin. For more information, read Pinned chats.

  • To rename a chat, hover over it and click the more_vert options menu, then select Rename.

  • To delete a chat, hover over it and click the more_vert options menu, then select Delete.

  • Use the search search bar to find previous chats by name.

The following table describes the icons used in the AIDA chat dialog:

AIDA chat dialog icons#

Icon

Description
content_copy

Copy the response to clipboard.

download_2

Download the response.

send

Submit a question.

stop_circle

Cancel the in-progress response.

fullscreen

Open in fullscreen.

close

Exit fullscreen.

more_vert

Open the options menu.

add

Start a new chat.

search

Search bar.

push_pin

Pin a chat.

edit

Rename a chat.

delete

Delete a chat.

Pinned chats#

Pinned chats appear at the top of your chat history. Pin a chat to keep important or ongoing chat sessions easily accessible. Pinned chats are visible only to you.

To pin or unpin a session:

  • Navigate to the scheduleChat history tab, hover over the desired chat, and click the push_pin pin icon.

  • Click the push_pin pin icon again to unpin.

Pinned chats appear above unpinned chats in the chat history. Chats within each group are sorted by most recent activity. When you resume a pinned chat and send a message, it moves to the top of the pinned group.

Deleting a chat session also removes its pin.

Visualizations#

AIDA can render interactive charts within your chat session, in response to query results. Charts can make it easier to see trends over time, rankings, comparisons across categories, or distributions. Click the AIDA ask about visualization icon Ask button on a chart to ask a follow-up question about the entire chart, or click a data point and select Ask about this to ask about a specific value.

Use visualizations to:

  • Spot trends, outliers, and distributions at a glance.

  • Compare values across categories, time periods, or segments.

  • Dive deeper into a specific data point by clicking a chart element and asking a follow-up question.

  • Iterate on a result without re-running the query, such as switching chart types or reframing the same data in a follow-up prompt.

AIDA determines when to render a chart based on the content of your query results. Aggregated data, time series, rankings, comparisons, and distributions typically produce a chart. Exploratory queries, count checks, and single-value results do not. You can also explicitly request a chart in your prompt, for example by asking AIDA to chart, plot, or show the results.

If AIDA cannot generate a chart for the requested data, it displays the results as a data table.

Best practices#

  • Describe what you want to see. Prompts that include phrases like trend over time, top 10, share of total, or compare by region tend to produce better charts than vague prompts.

  • Ask for a specific chart type when you have one in mind. For example, Show revenue by region as a bar chart. If the chart type is not a good fit for the data, AIDA explains why and recommends an alternative.

  • Refer to earlier results in follow-up prompts to iterate without re-running the query. For example, Change that to a pie chart or Plot the data you retrieved earlier.

Limitations#

  • AIDA generates one chart per response, rendered after the final query that answers your question.

  • SQL result sets larger than 500 rows are truncated before AIDA generates a chart. To visualize a larger dataset, refine your query to aggregate, filter, or rank the results.

  • If AIDA cannot produce a valid chart after three attempts, it returns a data table containing the same results.

  • Visualizations reflect the data returned at query time. AIDA does not cache or refresh chart data automatically.

Customize AIDA appearance#

You can personalize your AIDA agent interface by customizing the appearance settings. Configure branding elements like logos, backgrounds, and welcome text to match your organization’s identity. Customizing AIDA’s appearance requires the custom login user interface privilege.

After you have the necessary privileges, go to User menu > Custom appearance to customize your login and agent screens.

Starburst AIDA chat interface

When you open the custom appearance dialog, you can enter the following configuration details:

Login screen#

Edit the following text fields to customize the login screen:

  • Name associated with logo: The name displayed on the login screen. Maximum 50 characters.

  • Welcome subtext: A welcome message shown below the name. Maximum 50 characters.

Agent screen#

Edit the following text field to customize the agent chat interface:

  • Disclaimer text: A disclaimer message displayed in the AIDA chat interface. Maximum 300 characters.

Background#

Upload a background image to display on the login screen. Configure the following:

  • Upload: The background image file for the login screen. Supported formats: .png, .jpg, .jpeg, and .svg. Images wider than 2160 pixels work best.

Click Save to apply your changes. Custom appearance settings apply to all users.