AI Context (Beta)

Last updated: August 17, 2026

Tier Deployment
Launch     Grow    Enterprise Cloud     On-Prem

Availability: Managed (cloud) and self-hosted deployments · Beta.

  • AI Context is only consumed by the assistant in the beta phase. It is planned to be consumed by Narrative, Semantic Enrichment, and NLQ in a subsequent release. Getting the most out of it also requires Cloud-Linked Features and a configured LLM. See Generative AI for setup details.

  • AI Context requires an environment that supports the AI fields API (i.e., it is not yet supported in on-prem installations). Where that API is not available, the AI Context option does not appear, and nothing else is affected.

AI Context lets data designers and dashboard creators write short, plain-language instructions that describe how a data model, table, column, dashboard, or widget should be understood or used by AI. A data model's schema tells Sisense Intelligence what the data is; AI Context tells it things a schema cannot express on its own, for example which join is correct, what "last quarter" means in your fiscal calendar, that a field is legacy and should not be queried, or that a table is expected to return every column rather than a subset. Sisense includes this text, alongside the schema it generates automatically, whenever the assistant, Narrative, Semantic Enrichment, or NLQ needs to reason about that object, so answers and generated queries reflect your own terminology and conventions instead of a generic default.

Data Assets Where You Can Add AI Context

AI Context is available at every level of your analytics stack:

  • Data models — context that applies across the whole model

  • Perspectives

  • Tables

  • Columns

  • Dashboards

  • Widgets

  • Shared formulas

When more than one level applies, the most specific context available takes priority. For example, AI Context on a column is used ahead of AI Context on its parent table, and AI Context on a widget is used ahead of AI Context on its parent dashboard.

How AI Context Fits In

AI Context is one of three pieces of metadata you can maintain for data assets: Description, Tags, and AI Context.

  • Description documents what the object is. Descriptions can be written manually or generated automatically via Semantic Enrichment; AI-generated descriptions are marked with the Sisense Intelligence iconAI SmartMatching Icon so you can tell them apart from text you wrote yourself.

  • Tags label objects for categorization and discoverability.

  • AI Context is instructional: it tells the assistant and related AI features how to interpret or use the object, rather than simply describing it. Unlike Descriptions, AI Context is always written by you; it is never generated automatically.

Adding AI Context

The same AI context dialog is used at every level. Its header updates to show exactly what you're annotating, for example Applied to table: DimProducts, Applied to column: OrderDate, or Applied to model: Sales.

Data Models, Tables, and Columns

  1. Open the Data tab and select the relevant data model.

  2. Switch to List View (as with Semantic Enrichment and Smart Value Matching) to see the model's tables and columns.

  3. Select AI Context:

    • Diagram view - In the data objects panel, next to the data asset that you want to annotate, click > AI Context

    • List view - next to the data asset that you want to annotate, click

  4. In the AI context dialog, enter your instructions in plain language. For example: "Sales transactions by region. Amount is in USD and excludes refunds."

    AI context dialog

  5. Click Save.

Dashboards and Widgets

  1. Open the Analytics tab and open the relevant dashboard.

  2. For dashboard-level context, click More options (three dots) icon > AI Context.

  3. For widget-level context, open the widget's options menu and select AI Context.

  4. Enter your instructions and click Save.

Note:

Each AI Context field accepts up to 500 characters. Click What is this for? in the dialog for a short reminder of how the text is used.

Where AI Context Is Used

Sisense includes AI Context, alongside the schema it generates automatically, wherever an AI feature reasons about the annotated object:

  • Assistant and NLQ: The assistant's natural language engine uses AI Context to choose the right tables, columns, joins, and values when it turns a question into a query. In the beta phase, this is the only feature that uses AI Context.

  • Narratives: Narrative uses AI Context when generating textual summaries of widgets. This is not available in the beta phase; it is planned for a subsequent release.

  • Semantic Enrichment: Semantic Enrichment takes AI Context into account when generating table and column descriptions. This is not available in the beta phase; it is planned for a subsequent release.

Limitations and Known Issues

  • This feature is currently in Beta. Functionality and behavior may continue to change before general availability.

  • Each AI Context field is limited to 500 characters.

  • AI Context requires an environment that supports the AI fields API. In self-hosted environments that do not yet support it, the AI Context option is not available, and existing assistant, NLQ, Narratives, and Semantic Enrichment behavior is unaffected.

  • AI Context is always written manually; it is not AI-generated, unlike Descriptions, which can be generated automatically via Semantic Enrichment.

  • You can add AI Context to an object if you have permission to edit that object — for example, edit permissions on a data model for its tables and columns, or design permissions on a dashboard for the dashboard and its widgets.