ThoughtSpot expands AI-powered Analytics Platform

ThoughtSpot has announced a series of new product capabilities during their annual customer conference Beyond 2023, to help companies across the globe deliver modern data experiences that advance business outcomes and deliver impact. These new capabilities include new ways to search data, new connections to data sources and platforms, new ways to collaborate on analytics, and ways to experience all this power without even logging into a BI tool.

This includes:

• Private preview of ThoughtSpot Sage, a new search experience that combines foundational language models and ThoughtSpot’s patented search technology

• Integrations with common workplace productivity tools and office suites

• Liveboard collaboration features

• Availability of ThoughtSpot SaaS built on Google Cloud Platform

• A series of new database connectors

• New Data Modeling Studio, the latest feature in the Data Workspace

• New embedded Liveboard features to deliver interactive data experiences

ThoughtSpot also announced Monitor for Mobile, delivering users proactive notifications pushed to their mobile device as KPIs change, paired with an explanation of the key drivers and change analysis, so users can make data-driven decisions whenever and wherever they are.

Introducing the modern data experience

We are at a defining moment in the history of computing. Generative AI and foundational language models have redefined how machines and humans interact, and in the process, unleashed a new era for the world of data. For the first time, people can interact, interrogate, and glean insights from their data as easily as they chat with a friend or colleague, with these insights going beyond the traditional BI tool and meeting users when and where they make decisions. Organizations face a new challenge, however, in ensuring this ease of interaction doesn’t sacrifice the specificity or accuracy required in an analytics context.

Since its founding, ThoughtSpot has always worked toward a mission of creating a more fact driven world through the power of search, AI, and self-service analytics. Now, with the rise of new technologies like GPT, combined with growing partnerships, new products, and new integrations, the entire data experience has been reimagined.

Experience your data in a new way

Today, we are introducing ThoughtSpot Sage, an AI-powered search experience that lets every user, regardless of technical skills, leverage foundational language models to get insights from their data through natural language search. Our patented dynamic search architecture paired with a foundational model delivers the flexibility of natural language with accuracy, governance and reliability your business expects. Currently in private preview, this includes:

• AI-powered search: Users can search their data in natural speech

• AI generated insights: Within seconds of searching, users receive AI generated insights accompanying their data results

• AI search suggestions: Based on the data and insights served, AI will provide recommendations for where to drill down and questions to ask

• Human-in-the-loop feedback capabilities: Allow users to provide feedback by correcting keyword tokens, training the machine learning system to learn and correct all future queries.

• AI assisted data modeling for synonyms: AI and large language models make data modeling easier and faster by automatically generating synonyms for all data columns, giving time back to data professionals

“At Goldcast, our objective has been to empower our business users to make more data-driven decisions in their day-to-day. ThoughtSpot Sage enables every Goldcast team member to find insights by asking natural language questions, all while providing a trustworthy and well-governed experience. This truly makes self-service analytics a reality in our organization,” said Kishore Kothandaraman, Co-Founder, Goldcast.

Collaborate on your data in a new way

Complementing ThoughtSpot Sage and the new search experience are several enhancements to ThoughtSpot Liveboards that promote collaboration, efficiency, and data fluency. This includes:

• Improved storytelling and interactivity with note tiles and custom sizing that can be used to add branding, explain confusing terminology, or provide context to the data. By utilizing notes, analysts can expand upon the data narrative and assist business users in quickly understanding and analyzing their data.

• Cross-filters enable users to apply a filter in one tile to the rest of the Liveboard, ensuring consistency in analysis, and enhancing interactivity and ad hoc exploration for all users.

• Parameters allow users to conduct “what if” scenario analysis.

• New in-app commenting system allows users to leave feedback, collaborate, share ideas, and arrive at actionable recommendations, all without leaving ThoughtSpot.

• Verified Liveboards Increase transparency and trust with data quality certifications for Liveboards.

Use new kinds of data

No matter where your data lives or what kind of data it is, you must be able to bring the modern data experience to it. Today, we are announcing new platform abilities and connectors that allow users to tap into new kinds of data from new places, providing our customers with greater flexibility and choice in how they build their stack and leverage ThoughtSpot as the experience layer. These deepening relationships and connectors across the ecosystem include:

• The launch of ThoughtSpot built on Google Cloud Platform, establishing ThoughtSpot as the first independent analytics company built on GCP. Customers can choose where they want to build their AI-Powered Analytics platform. In addition to taking advantage of ThoughtSpot’s native GCP architecture, can purchase ThoughtSpot with Google credits on Google Marketplace, and make the most of their data living in Google Cloud.

• New live query database connectors for Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL; Amazon Aurora for PostgreSQL; SQL Server, and a universal JDBC connector enables users to connect data with just a few clicks.

"Data has always been an intrinsic part of our business to deliver world-leading learning and engagement solutions for learners of all ages. By using the combination of ThoughtSpot and Google Cloud, we can deliver an entirely different analytics experience to our enterprise and education users, empowering them to engage with data directly,” said Jostein Håvaldsrud, CTO, Kahoot.

Model data your way

As companies democratize their data, their data modeling approach has never been more important in delivering accurate, trustworthy, reliable analytics. Data analysts, analytics engineers and data architects need modern tools to help their organizations deliver on the modern data stack and make the most of their investments.

ThoughtSpot’s new Data Modeling Studio, the newest addition to the Data Workspace, is a new visual model builder which makes it easy to create custom, trusted data experiences, using the tools and languages your data teams already know and love. Users can scale the impact of their work across ThoughtSpot environments by uploading reusable TML models, leverage SpotApps starter templates to set up new search environments in minutes, and create their own data models from scratch Other features include:

• Model builder experience: designed with an intuitive drag-drop interface and guided UI that makes modeling data for analytics as easy as using your favorite app. Users can inherit existing joins from their database or create new joins through a guided UI, build guardrails for search by dragging and dropping relevant columns in your model, and scale data literacy across the business by adding custom formulas, adjusting attributes, and configuring column properties.

• New data catalog integrations: Two-way integrations with Alation, Atlan and Collibra, as well as ThoughtSpot integrations with Metaphor and Data.World, deliver a new way to experience governed and trusted data by syncing established, rich contextual metadata from your data catalog into ThoughtSpot. This metadata appears alongside ThoughtSpot Answers in new knowledge cards, providing your teams with the context they need to build trust in their data, including descriptions, certification status, and related insights.

• Model sync for dbt: dbt users can accelerate workflows by connecting directly to models already built in dbt. The sync automatically transfers updates made in dbt over to related objects in ThoughtSpot, keeping dbt as your singular source of modeling truth.

• ThoughtSpot integration with Looker: Customers can model, transform, and define metrics in their data using Looker’s Semantic Model (powered by LookML) and Looker Modeler, giving them confidence and trust to empower their teams at scale. Then, anybody can use ThoughtSpot to explore and endlessly drill into this data with natural language search, embed business monitoring and anomaly detection, and create interactive Liveboards that take users well beyond static dashboards. The integration will be available to customers this summer.

Bring ThoughtSpot to where work gets done

No matter your stack, your business can only move as fast as your decision-making process takes. Actionable insights seamlessly integrated into your existing workflows is a game changer for scaling your data-driven business strategy. Today, ThoughtSpot has launched a series of new applications for your productivity suite that bring AI-Powered Analytics to where your work gets done.

• New Slack integration: Users can share links from ThoughtSpot Liveboards into Slack and automatically generate rich visualizations. Users in Slack can then jump to where the visualization lives in ThoughtSpot for further exploration. With Liveboard previews in Slack, your team can determine if they want to continue the conversation in Slack or directly in your Liveboard with the new in-app commenting system. Currently in private preview, this integration will be available in the second half 2023.

• New interactive Slack AI Assistant: Called ‘Spot,’ your new AI assistant will take any question you ask in natural language on Slack, and fetch you the answer and explanation within your Slack thread instantly. Spot works with file types like Excel and CSVs and can also be connected to cloud data platforms like Snowflake or Google BigQuery. Currently in private preview, ‘Spot’ will be available second half 2023.

• ThoughtSpot Analytics for Excel: Offers a lightweight version of ThoughtSpot that does not require a ThoughtSpot login and works entirely in the browser leveraging the computing power of the laptop in front of you.

• New integrations with Google Workspace: Three new applications embedded in Google Sheets and Google Slides, including ThoughtSpot Analytics Sheets and ThoughtSpot Connected Sheets available today, and integrations with Google Connected Slides, available in preview.

Deliver customized, interactive data experiences

ThoughtSpot Everywhere enables product builders to embed this entire modern data experience right into an app or product, driving new innovations, accelerating time to market, and delighting end users. Whether you want to create a new revenue stream, make an existing product stickier, or build an app to solve a specific internal use case, new ThoughtSpot Everywhere capabilities make delivering a modern data experience that feels like your company to any of your customers easier than ever before. These include:

• An all-new Liveboard experience bringing more interactivity and control over your content including access to Liveboard Tabs, custom-sized tiles, and new Filter and Answer Explore capabilities for your end users.

• A new styling framework that provides advanced CSS capabilities to bring your design language to life in your app.

• Support for open-source version control systems like Git, making it fast and easy for developers to track changes, version control, and migrate ThoughtSpot content across deployments.

“ThoughtSpot has stepped up significantly on embedding capabilities through its ThoughtSpot Everywhere initiative, adding low-code development and automated deployment options to its Visual Embed SDK, JavaScript library, and REST API endpoints,” said Doug Henschen, VP and Principal Analyst at Constellation Research. “These advances coupled with its Action Framework for business processes and no-code ThoughtSpot Sync options for pushing data to external apps helped to put ThoughtSpot on our 2023 Embedded Analytics ShortList™.”

Thoughts from the Top

“We’re on the precipice of a world where we no longer have to dumb ourselves down for machines. For the first time, machines are set to listen and partner with humanity on our terms and through our preferred user interface, natural language. Modern businesses want to run on reason built on data and logic, however, the language barrier between people and machines has meant making data insights and analytics accessible to everyone impossible. Foundational models change everything we’ve known to be true in the world of BI. Today, we bring continued innovation and partnership in helping companies embrace a new, modern data experience powered by responsible, ethical AI,” said Sudheesh Nair, CEO, ThoughtSpot.

“For the first time, the data experience is no longer defined by a choice between nuance and natural, power and performance, intuitive and impactful. The modern data experience brings all of this together, for everyone. While consumer grade UX and natural language has always been at the core of our product strategy, today’s developments in AI paired with our patented search experience and backend architecture, signal a new stage for taking advantage of the power of AI for analytics,” said Sumeet Arora, Chief Development Officer, ThoughtSpot. “Each of the new enhancements in this launch embrace the future of AI-Powered Analytics and enables organizations of all sizes to experience, collaborate, model, and access data in new ways that are personalized to the user and boost productivity.”

“With ThoughtSpot Sage, our engineers have brought the power of foundational language models together with our relational search engine to deliver a natural language search experience that automatically creates insights with verifiable accuracy and trust. Data discovery has never been so fast and easy. It’s truly bringing our vision of ‘Google for numbers’ to life,” said Amit Prakash, Co-founder and CTO, ThoughtSpot.