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The data assistant investigates responses after analysis generation has completed. It is available in the analysis side panel, opened with Assistant, and as the full-width Data Analyst view.

Before you start

A completed report is required. Until the study reaches 80% of its panel target, the assistant does not read open-ended answers (open questions and AI follow-ups); a note above the message box says so. Define the measure, subgroup, and evidence you need before writing the request.

Meet the report requirement

Report chat becomes available after a report reaches Completed. If the view shows Chat Unavailable, generate the report or reload Analysis after generation completes.

Start with a focused question

Open Data Analyst from the analysis view switcher when you want the conversation to use the full workspace.
Data Analyst view with research-assistant starter prompts and the message composer

Data Analyst provides starter requests and a full-width conversation for the current report.

Name the question, subgroup, output, and evidence required. For example: Ask one primary question per message. Use follow-up messages to refine the population, evidence, or output.

Verify an answer

Select a citation to open its source response. Select Show reasoning when you need to inspect how the assistant scoped or approached the request. Compare any generated figure with its source chart or table before using it outside the study.

Attach reference material

Select Attach a file in the composer. A chat accepts PDF, DOCX, TXT, CSV, and XLSX, up to 20 documents across the chat and 32 MB per file. Use attachments to compare findings with a brief, codeframe, prior wave, or external table. State which document and field the assistant should use. Attachments remain available to later messages in the same chat. Deleting the message that introduced a document also removes that document from the chat context.

Add a saved chart as context

Type @ in the composer and select a saved chart, or select Ask AI about this folder from a chart folder. The selected chart or folder appears as context for the next request. In Charts, the chart open on screen travels with your next message, unsaved changes included. The side panel names it and states whether the assistant can edit it. The assistant reads its values, base and weighting as shown, and changes the chart only when you ask it to; a question about the data, even one that sets weighting aside, gets an answer without touching the chart. In Slides, the slide on screen travels the same way: the side panel names it (for example “Slide 3 · Key findings”), and “this slide” in your request refers to it. Page to another slide before asking about it. The assistant reads the last saved version of the deck, so save your edits before asking about them.

Ask the assistant to change a chart

1

Open the chart

Open one of your saved charts in Charts and select Assistant. Check the chart context shown above the composer. Any saved chart can be updated, including a chart in the plan folder. Save a new chart before asking the assistant to update it.
2

Describe the change

Ask for a specific change to the configuration or weighting, for example “Show this chart as percentages, split by age.”
3

Review the saved result

The assistant saves the change, and when its reply finishes, the chart view opens the updated chart. The line under the reply names the chart; Reload chart returns to it later. If a different chart with unsaved edits is on screen, the view stays put until you select Reload chart. The assistant does not save a configuration that returns no data. Check the question, breakdown, filters, weighting, and base of the updated chart before relying on it.
If the chart has unsaved edits when the assistant changes it, your edits stay on screen and a notice explains that the assistant changed the chart. Select Load the assistant’s version to replace your edits with it, or select Save to keep your own version instead. Without unsaved edits, the chart view shows the assistant’s version.

Add an assistant chart to a folder

A chart the assistant draws in the conversation carries the same save action as any other chart. Selecting it opens your folder list: pick a folder, or create one, the chart is named from its question, theme and breakdown. On a chart already saved, the list shows the folder it is in, and picking another moves it. Review the chart’s base and filters before filing it in a folder you will present or turn into slides.

Manage an active response

You can prepare and queue a follow-up while the assistant responds. Review queued messages before they are sent. Select Stop to stop the current response when the request needs correcting. Clear chat permanently removes the current conversation history. Start a new chat instead when the existing thread should remain available.

Organize several analysis threads

Use New for a separate line of analysis. Rename each chat to match its purpose and pin current deliverable work. Search finds earlier chats by their content. The assistant uses the most recent 100 messages in a chat. Start another thread for a long or unrelated analysis rather than relying on older context.
Changing the output language archives the current analysis and its associated conversations and slides. Copy or export work you need first. Regenerating with the same language, including a weighting change, does not archive these conversations.

Check the result

The answer uses the requested population and identifies the relevant bases. Open its citations and compare figures with saved tables before using the wording in a deliverable. After a chart change, reopen the chart and confirm the saved version is the one you intend.

Configure your plan before analysis

Use the separate Plan assistant in Analysis plan to prepare questions, comparisons, and variables before responses arrive. Its conversation is shared within the study and remains available after generation. See Build an analysis plan.