ThoughtSpot Sage - Detailed Review
Analytics Tools
ThoughtSpot Sage - Product Overview
Introduction to ThoughtSpot Sage
ThoughtSpot Sage is an AI-powered analytics tool that integrates natural language processing and generative AI to simplify data analysis and insight generation. Here’s a breakdown of its primary function, target audience, and key features:Primary Function
ThoughtSpot Sage allows users to interact with their data using natural language queries. This tool translates user questions into SQL statements and executes them on the data, providing accurate and relevant answers. It aims to democratize data analytics by enabling anyone, regardless of their technical background, to explore and analyze data easily.Target Audience
ThoughtSpot Sage is primarily targeted at larger businesses and organizations that already have a team of data analysts and specialists. It is not ideal for small teams or individuals with no background in data analytics. The tool requires preparatory work on the data, such as modeling and validation, which is typically handled by data specialists. This makes it more suitable for companies with existing data infrastructure and expertise.Key Features
AI-Powered Search
Users can ask questions in plain English, and ThoughtSpot Sage interprets these queries to provide relevant answers. This feature leverages GPT’s natural language processing capabilities, making it user-friendly for those without extensive technical knowledge.AI-Generated Answers and Visualizations
The tool generates custom answers and visualizations based on the user’s queries. For example, a user can ask about sales performance, and Sage will create a visualization to illustrate the data insights.Human-in-the-Loop Feedback
ThoughtSpot Sage includes a feedback mechanism where users can provide input on the AI-generated insights. This feedback helps refine the model, improving the quality and relevance of the results over time.Search Recommendations
To help users get started, ThoughtSpot Sage suggests starter questions based on the available data. This feature aids in exploring the data more effectively and discovering new insights.Integration with Various Data Sources
ThoughtSpot Sage connects to a wide range of data sources, including Snowflake, Databricks, and Google BigQuery, ensuring that users can analyze data from multiple platforms.Mobile and API Capabilities
The tool offers mobile capabilities and a decent API, making it accessible and integrable into various applications and systems. In summary, ThoughtSpot Sage is a powerful tool for larger organizations looking to leverage AI in their data analytics processes, but it requires a certain level of data preparation and expertise to fully utilize its features. ThoughtSpot Sage - User Interface and Experience
User Interface Overview
The user interface of ThoughtSpot Sage is crafted to be intuitive and user-friendly, making it accessible to a wide range of users, from business analysts to data scientists.Natural Language Interaction
ThoughtSpot Sage allows users to interact with the system using natural language, similar to how they would ask questions in everyday conversation. Users can type questions like “What were channel sales in California in the last two quarters?” and the system will translate these questions into relevant and trusted answers from the data.Simple and Intuitive UI
The interface is characterized by its simplicity, with no need for extensive setup or onboarding forms. The UI is straightforward, making it easy for users to start asking questions and getting answers immediately.AI-Powered Search and Recommendations
ThoughtSpot Sage includes features such as AI-powered search, which suggests starter questions to help users get started with exploring their data. This feature helps alleviate the initial blank slate feeling by providing relevant questions to begin with. As users interact more with the system, it learns to suggest more relevant questions based on their queries.Visualizations and Insights
The system generates custom answers in the form of best-fit visualizations, so users don’t have to search for or create them manually. Users can drill down into these visualizations and ask follow-up questions to uncover deeper insights. This is particularly facilitated by the “Ask Sage” feature, which allows users to ask simple follow-up questions on visualizations in a Liveboard using natural language.Feedback and Improvement
ThoughtSpot Sage incorporates a “human-in-the-loop” feedback mechanism, where users can provide thumbs up or down feedback to fine-tune the quality and relevance of the insights. This feedback helps make the system smarter and more refined over time. Administrators can also control and edit queries, as well as user-generated feedback, to ensure accurate results.Verifiable Answers
Each analytical answer generated by ThoughtSpot Sage is user-verifiable. The system combines retrieval-automated generation with large language models (LLMs) and relational search to ensure 100% accurate analytics. Users can verify the answers by checking the search tokens, adding an extra layer of trust in the insights provided.Mobile and Embedded Options
ThoughtSpot Sage is accessible through both web and mobile applications, allowing users to interact with data anywhere and anytime. The platform also offers embedding options, such as ThoughtSpot Sage Embed, which lets users add ThoughtSpot Sage to any web or mobile application via an API. This enables a conversational interface even on mobile apps.Conclusion
Overall, the user experience of ThoughtSpot Sage is focused on ease of use, accuracy, and engagement. It simplifies the process of interacting with data, making it possible for a broad range of users to derive valuable insights without needing extensive technical knowledge. ThoughtSpot Sage - Key Features and Functionality
ThoughtSpot Sage Overview
ThoughtSpot Sage is an AI-powered analytics tool that integrates the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) like GPT-3 with ThoughtSpot’s patented search technology. Here are the main features and how they work:
AI-Powered Search in Natural Language
ThoughtSpot Sage allows users to ask questions in plain English, similar to how they would search the internet. This natural language search capability, powered by GPT-3, translates user queries into SQL statements that can be executed on complex relational schemas, providing relevant and trusted answers from the data.
AI-Generated Answers
The tool goes beyond just listing search results; it curates custom answers in the form of best-fit visualizations. This means users don’t have to search for or create the insights themselves. The system generates answers that are personalized and flexible, allowing users to drill down or ask follow-up questions easily.
AI-Powered Search Recommendations
For users who are unsure where to start, ThoughtSpot Sage suggests a set of starter questions to explore the data. As users interact with the system, the AI engine can be trained to suggest more relevant questions, helping users uncover deeper insights without feeling overwhelmed by an empty search bar.
AI-Assisted Data Modeling
ThoughtSpot Sage enables the creation of search data models that allow AI to answer questions quickly while maintaining the reliability and guardrails of the data model. Analysts can generate synonyms for common business terms (e.g., revenue vs. sales), update these synonyms, and even create auto-generated descriptions to help business users understand the data better.
AI-Generated Insights That Get Smarter
Each time users create insights with ThoughtSpot Sage, they can provide feedback (thumbs up or down) to fine-tune the quality and relevance of the insights. This feedback loop makes the system smarter over time, improving the accuracy and usefulness of the generated insights for all users.
Human-in-the-Loop Machine Learning
The integration of human feedback with AI-generated insights ensures that the system becomes more refined and accurate as it is used more. This human-in-the-loop approach allows analysts to verify results and bring their expertise to the data model, ensuring that insights are trustworthy and relevant.
Advanced Controls and Conversational BI
ThoughtSpot Sage includes advanced controls and supports conversational business intelligence (BI), allowing users to interact with data through natural language. This feature extends to mobile devices, enabling users to detect anomalies and get AI insights on the go.
AI Help and Assistance
The tool offers AI help bot assistance, providing users with machine-generated narratives that explain the insights. This feature helps ensure that users and their colleagues can easily comprehend the insights generated by the system.
Productivity Boost for Data Analysts
ThoughtSpot Sage assists data analysts by generating SQL queries, defining complex window functions, and resolving syntax errors. It also autosuggests field descriptions, report titles, and chart titles, making the process of collaborating on insights faster and more efficient.
Conclusion
These features collectively make ThoughtSpot Sage a powerful tool for accessing, analyzing, and deriving insights from large and complex data sets, all while ensuring accuracy, security, and user-friendly interaction.
ThoughtSpot Sage - Performance and Accuracy
ThoughtSpot Sage Overview
ThoughtSpot Sage, an AI-powered analytics tool integrated with OpenAI’s GPT-3, has made significant strides in enhancing the performance and accuracy of analytics operations, but it also has some limitations and areas for improvement.
Performance
Natural Language Interaction
ThoughtSpot Sage allows users to interact with data using natural language, which significantly simplifies the process of querying and analyzing data. Users can ask questions in plain English, and the system interprets and responds accordingly.
Conversational BI
The latest update introduces Conversational BI, enabling deeper data exploration through follow-up questions and suggestions. This feature allows for a more interactive and engaging analytics experience, improving productivity by reducing the need for coding or configuring SQL commands.
AI-Assisted Insights
Sage generates insights in the form of best-fit visualizations and provides machine-generated narratives to explain these insights. This helps users quickly grasp the information without needing to create or find it themselves.
Code Generation and Documentation
Features like Ask Docs and AI Assist help developers generate SQL code and document their work more efficiently, further enhancing the user experience.
Accuracy
Human Feedback Loop
A key feature of the latest update is the introduction of a human-generated feedback loop. This allows users to verify the accuracy of the mappings between natural language and ThoughtSpot’s technology, helping to train Sage and improve its accuracy over time. This feedback mechanism is crucial for mitigating risks such as hallucinations, bias, and privacy breaches.
Guardrails and Trust
ThoughtSpot has implemented various guardrails to ensure the quality and trustworthiness of AI-generated insights. Analysts can curate data enrichment and provide input on AI-generated insights to improve their quality.
Integration with Proprietary Data
Combining large language models (LLMs) with proprietary data is essential for deriving value from generative AI in business settings. Sage ensures that users can leverage LLMs with their organization’s specific data, making the insights more relevant and trustworthy.
Limitations and Areas for Improvement
Complex Data Handling
Sage still struggles with interpreting complex data, such as computing joins on multiple tables. This limitation can hinder its ability to handle certain types of queries.
Hallucinations and Bias
Like other generative AI tools, Sage is subject to hallucinations (false, misleading, or offensive results) and bias. The human feedback loop is a step towards mitigating these risks, but ongoing fine-tuning and oversight are necessary.
Future Enhancements
Analysts suggest that future improvements could include more forward-looking analyses and the application of generative AI to data pipelines, which could significantly improve the productivity of data and analytics teams.
Conclusion
In summary, ThoughtSpot Sage has made substantial progress in enhancing the performance and accuracy of analytics through natural language interactions, conversational BI, and AI-assisted insights. However, it still faces challenges related to handling complex data and mitigating the risks associated with generative AI, which are being addressed through continuous improvements and human oversight.
ThoughtSpot Sage - Pricing and Plans
Pricing Plans
Team Plan
- Costs $95 per month (billed monthly)
- Accommodates up to five users
- Supports up to five million rows of data and one million search suggestions
- Includes features like single permission group, full search functionality, data visualization, native mobile app, scheduled Liveboards, data modeling, and community-based and in-app support.
Essentials Plan
- Costs $1,250 per month (billed annually)
- Supports up to 20 users
- Accommodates up to 25 million rows of data and one million AI search suggestions
- Includes all features of the Team plan plus five permission groups, automated analysis, sharing of Liveboards and answers, and row-level security.
Pro Plan
- Starts at $2,500 per month (billed annually)
- Accommodates unlimited users
- Supports up to 100 million rows of data and up to 10 million search suggestions
- Includes all features of the Essentials plan.
Enterprise Plan
- Pricing available by quote
- Accommodates unlimited rows of data and up to 200 million search suggestions
- Includes all features of the Pro plan plus unlimited permission groups, advanced data encryption at rest, private link between ThoughtSpot and cloud data platforms, URL whitelabeling, VPN, and 24/7 support.
Everywhere Plan
- Pricing available by quote
- Targets companies that want to embed ThoughtSpot into their existing applications
- Includes all features of the Enterprise plan plus embedded analytics.
ThoughtSpot Sage Features
- AI-powered search in natural language: Allows users to ask questions in natural language to get relevant answers from their data.
- AI-generated answers: Provides custom answers in the form of visualizations based on the user’s questions.
- AI-powered search recommendations: Suggests starter questions to explore data and refines suggestions based on user feedback.
- AI-generated insights that improve with use: Insights get smarter with user feedback, enhancing the overall quality and relevance.
Consumption-Based Pricing
ThoughtSpot also offers a consumption-based pricing model, where costs are based on credits that are consumed by various user activities such as performing searches, viewing or editing Liveboards, and administrative changes. This model is available for both ThoughtSpot Cloud and Connections software deployment.
Free Options
There are no free plans available for ThoughtSpot. However, a 14-day free trial is available for users to experience the features, including those of ThoughtSpot Sage.
ThoughtSpot Sage - Integration and Compatibility
Integration with Other Tools
ThoughtSpot Sage integrates with several prominent data and analytics platforms. For instance, it has partnerships with major players like Snowflake, Amazon Web Services, Databricks, dbt Labs, and Matillion. These integrations enable seamless data exchange and analysis, allowing users to leverage their existing data infrastructure.Large Language Models (LLMs)
ThoughtSpot Sage is integrated with GPT-3, a large language model from OpenAI, which enhances its natural language search capabilities. This integration allows users to search existing analytical content or create new insights, charts, and visualizations using natural language. There are plans to support additional LLMs in the future.Human-in-the-Loop Feedback
The platform includes a “human-in-the-loop” feedback mechanism, which allows human operators to customize and improve query prompts by associating business terms with the data model. This ensures more accurate results and trust in the analytics provided by the AI.Embedding Options
ThoughtSpot Sage offers embedding options that allow users to integrate its features into their own web or mobile applications via an application program interface (API). This feature, known as ThoughtSpot Sage Embed, enables a conversational interface, particularly useful on mobile apps, where users can ask questions in natural language without needing to use query languages.Cross-Platform Compatibility
ThoughtSpot Sage is compatible with major desktop browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. This ensures that users can access and use the platform across different devices and browsers without any compatibility issues.Mobile App Integration
The platform also includes features like KPI Monitor, which sends notifications about changes in key performance indicators (KPIs) via the ThoughtSpot mobile app. This feature uses AI-generated change analysis to keep users informed in natural language.Developer Tools
For developers, ThoughtSpot Sage includes features like AskDocs, which allows them to ask coding questions in natural language and receive generative AI-assisted instructions and code. This supports developers across various skill levels, from no-code users to data engineers.Conclusion
In summary, ThoughtSpot Sage is highly integrated with various data analytics tools and platforms, and it offers broad compatibility across different browsers, devices, and applications, making it a versatile and accessible analytics solution. ThoughtSpot Sage - Customer Support and Resources
Support and Resources for ThoughtSpot Sage
When using ThoughtSpot Sage, customers have several avenues for support and additional resources to ensure a smooth and effective experience with the AI-driven analytics tool.
Contacting Support
For any technical issues or inquiries, you can file a support ticket using the ThoughtSpot Support ticket filing system. To do this, you need a Support Portal login; if you don’t have one, you should contact your ThoughtSpot liaison for assistance.
Phone and Email Support
ThoughtSpot also offers support via phone and email. You can reach out to their toll-free number at 1-800-508-7008 for general inquiries. For specific inquiries, you can email them at support@thoughtspot.com for other issues and sales@thoughtspot.com for sales-related questions.
Community Support
The ThoughtSpot Community is another valuable resource where you can interact with other customers, partners, and ThoughtSpot employees. Here, you can find useful content, ask and answer questions, exchange ideas and best practices, and collaborate to resolve issues or gain insights.
Additional Resources
ThoughtSpot Sage integrates with GPT-3 and leverages ThoughtSpot’s patented search technology, which is well-documented in various resources. For example, the ThoughtSpot blog provides detailed articles on how ThoughtSpot Sage works, including its AI-powered search in natural language, AI-generated answers, and AI-powered search recommendations. These resources help users understand the capabilities and benefits of the tool.
Feedback and Improvement
ThoughtSpot Sage allows users to provide feedback on the insights generated by the system. This feedback is used to fine-tune the search quality and make the system smarter over time, ensuring that the insights become more accurate and relevant with each use.
By leveraging these support options and resources, users of ThoughtSpot Sage can effectively address any issues, enhance their usage of the tool, and maximize the value they derive from their data analytics.
ThoughtSpot Sage - Pros and Cons
Advantages of ThoughtSpot Sage
ThoughtSpot Sage, the latest AI-powered analytics tool from ThoughtSpot, offers several significant advantages that make it a valuable asset for businesses:Natural Language Search
ThoughtSpot Sage enables users to ask business questions in natural language, similar to how they would search on Google or Bing. This feature makes analytics accessible to everyone, regardless of their technical skill level.AI-Generated Answers and Visualizations
The tool can automatically create insights, charts, and visualizations based on the user’s natural language queries. It also generates narratives to explain the insights, making it easier for users to interpret and act on the data.AI-Powered Search Recommendations
ThoughtSpot Sage suggests starter questions to help users explore their data, reducing the overwhelm of an empty search bar. As users interact with the system, it learns to suggest more relevant questions.AI-Assisted Data Modeling
Analysts can build reusable search data models that provide guardrails for end users, ensuring safe and reliable data exploration. The system supports synonyms for common business terms, which can be updated by analysts to speed up the process of gaining valuable insights.Human-in-the-Loop Feedback
The system includes a feedback loop where users can provide thumbs up or down feedback to fine-tune the quality and relevance of the insights. This human feedback helps train the AI to become smarter and more accurate over time.Conversational BI
ThoughtSpot Sage now supports deep data exploration using natural language, allowing users to ask follow-up questions and engage in a complete conversation with the platform. This enhances productivity by reducing the need for coding or configuring SQL commands.Integration and Scalability
ThoughtSpot Sage integrates with various data sources, including on-premise, cloud, big data, and desktop data. It supports large language models like GPT-3 and is planned to support additional LLMs, making it scalable for complex data environments.Disadvantages of ThoughtSpot Sage
While ThoughtSpot Sage offers numerous benefits, there are some limitations and considerations:Initial Limitations in Public Preview
ThoughtSpot Sage is currently in public preview, which means it is still being refined and improved. Users may encounter some limitations as the system continues to evolve.Need for Human Oversight
To mitigate risks such as hallucinations (false, misleading, or offensive results), the system requires human feedback and oversight. This ensures that the AI-generated insights are trustworthy and accurate.Potential for Errors in Complex Queries
The model may struggle with interpreting complex data, such as computing joins on multiple tables or handling queries on very specific data sets. This could lead to inaccuracies if not properly managed.Dependence on Proprietary Data
While large language models are powerful, they are not privy to proprietary data. Combining these models with proprietary data is crucial for deriving business-specific insights, which can be a challenge to set up and maintain. In summary, ThoughtSpot Sage offers significant advantages in terms of accessibility, ease of use, and the ability to generate insightful and actionable data visualizations. However, it also requires ongoing human feedback and oversight to ensure accuracy and trustworthiness, and it may have some initial limitations as it continues to develop. ThoughtSpot Sage - Comparison with Competitors
Unique Features of ThoughtSpot Sage
ThoughtSpot Sage integrates the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) like GPT with ThoughtSpot’s patented search technology. This combination allows users to interact with the system using natural language, asking questions or giving commands in plain English, and receiving accurate and relevant results.
- Natural Language Processing: Users can query the system in natural language, making it accessible to a wide range of users regardless of their technical expertise.
- Advanced Controls and Feedback: ThoughtSpot Sage includes advanced controls and human-in-the-loop feedback capabilities, enabling users to verify results and ensure the accuracy of the data model.
- Generative AI Assisted SQL: The tool assists data analysts with generative AI-powered SQL query writing, helping with complex window functions and syntax errors.
Comparison with Competitors
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a powerful web analytics tool that uses machine learning to identify patterns and trends in data. While it excels in predicting future user actions and identifying significant trends, it is more focused on web analytics rather than the broad data analysis capabilities of ThoughtSpot Sage. Google Analytics relies heavily on automated insights generated by AI algorithms but does not offer the same level of natural language interaction as ThoughtSpot Sage.
Tableau
Tableau is a data visualization and analytics platform that also uses AI, particularly with features like Ask Data and Explain Data. These features allow for natural language queries and AI-driven explanations of data patterns. However, Tableau’s AI capabilities are more focused on data visualization and predictive modeling, whereas ThoughtSpot Sage emphasizes the combination of LLMs with search technology for broader data analysis.
Microsoft Power BI
Microsoft Power BI is a cloud-based business intelligence platform that integrates with Microsoft Azure for advanced analytics and machine learning. It offers interactive visualizations and data modeling but does not have the same level of natural language processing or generative AI capabilities as ThoughtSpot Sage. Power BI is more suited for organizations already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem.
Salesforce Einstein Analytics
Salesforce Einstein Analytics uses machine learning to analyze customer data and predict sales outcomes. It is highly specialized in customer data analysis and personalizing marketing campaigns, which is different from the more general data analysis capabilities of ThoughtSpot Sage. Einstein Analytics is ideal for businesses deeply integrated with Salesforce.
SAS Visual Analytics
SAS Visual Analytics automates data analysis and provides insights using AI. It uses machine learning to uncover hidden patterns and trends, similar to ThoughtSpot Sage. However, SAS Visual Analytics is more focused on predictive modeling and identifying key influencers in customer churn, whereas ThoughtSpot Sage offers a broader range of data analysis capabilities with its natural language interface.
Potential Alternatives
- ConverSight: ConverSight offers generative AI and natural language processing, similar to ThoughtSpot Sage, but with a focus on specialized data storytelling and intelligent story generation. It is known for delivering ROI within weeks of implementation, which can be a significant advantage for some users.
- IBM Watson Analytics: IBM Watson Analytics stands out for its natural language processing abilities, allowing users to ask questions in plain English and receive visualized answers. This makes it a strong alternative for those looking for a user-friendly natural language interface.
In summary, while ThoughtSpot Sage offers unique features such as its combination of LLMs and patented search technology, other tools like Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, and IBM Watson Analytics provide alternative approaches to AI-driven data analysis, each with their own strengths and specializations.
ThoughtSpot Sage - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about ThoughtSpot Sage
What is ThoughtSpot Sage?
ThoughtSpot Sage is an AI-powered search experience that integrates large language models (LLMs) with ThoughtSpot’s patented search technology. It allows users to gain meaningful business insights by asking questions in natural language, making data analytics more accessible and intuitive.How does ThoughtSpot Sage work?
ThoughtSpot Sage connects to various data sources such as Snowflake, Databricks, and Google BigQuery. Users can upload data models and then ask Sage, the AI assistant, questions about the data. Sage uses natural language processing to provide personalized and flexible answers, allowing users to ask follow-up questions seamlessly.What are the core features of ThoughtSpot Sage?
Key features include AI-powered natural language search, AI-generated answers, AI-powered search suggestions, a human-in-the-loop feedback system, and AI-assisted data modeling. These features help in highlighting trends and patterns in the data and presenting them in a comprehensible format.Can anyone use ThoughtSpot Sage, or is it limited to data specialists?
ThoughtSpot Sage is designed to democratize data analytics, making it accessible to anyone with basic computer skills. Users can explore cloud data and get custom visualizations without needing to know SQL or advanced data analytics. This includes marketers, product leaders, and other business professionals.How do I use Ask Sage in ThoughtSpot?
To use Ask Sage, navigate to a Liveboard in ThoughtSpot, choose a visualization, and select the “Ask Sage” option. Type your question in the search bar, and Sage will provide an answer. You can then ask follow-up questions to drill down further into the data. Admins need to enable the “AI answers on Liveboard” option for users to see the Ask Sage button.Are there any limitations to the questions I can ask in Ask Sage?
Yes, there are limitations. Currently, “why” questions that require reasoning or text-based answers are not supported. Additionally, descriptive questions about the data sources (e.g., “How many date columns does the Worksheet have?”) and requesting specific types of charts using natural language are not supported.Can I embed ThoughtSpot Sage in my own applications?
Yes, ThoughtSpot Sage allows you to embed the AI-powered search experience in your own applications. This enables the end users of your SaaS product to explore data without needing knowledge of SQL or data analytics.How does the human-in-the-loop feedback system work in ThoughtSpot Sage?
The human-in-the-loop feedback system in ThoughtSpot Sage allows users to verify results and bring their expertise to the data model. This feedback helps train the model to understand the user’s intent better and deliver more personalized and accurate analytics experiences.Is there a trial or demo available for ThoughtSpot Sage?
Yes, there are trial and demo options available. You can sign up for a 30-day trial or a 10-day trial to experience the features of ThoughtSpot Sage firsthand.How does ThoughtSpot Sage impact the productivity of data analysts?
ThoughtSpot Sage significantly boosts the productivity of data analysts by assisting with generative AI-powered SQL query writing. It helps define complex window functions, resolve syntax errors, and provides autosuggested field descriptions, report titles, and chart titles, allowing analysts to work more efficiently.