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Your First Conversation

With your data connected, it’s time to experience the magic of chat-driven analytics. This guide walks you through crafting questions, interpreting visual outputs, and refining follow-ups.

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1. Opening a Chat

From the dashboard, click New Chat. A fresh thread appears with a friendly greeting from the assistant, inviting your first question.

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2. Asking a Question

Start simple. For a sales database you could ask:

“What were total sales last month?”

The assistant analyses the underlying data and replies with both a textual summary and, when appropriate, an inline chart. The response might read:

• “Total sales for April were 125 000 USD, reflecting a 12 % increase over March.”
• A bar chart shows the previous six months for context.

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Tips for Effective Prompts

• Be specific – Include time frames, product lines, or segments to narrow results.
• Ask for comparisons – E.g., “Compare mobile vs. desktop traffic last quarter.”
• Request visualisations – Use phrases like “show me a line chart of…” or “plot the top five categories.”

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3. Exploring Further

The real power of PlotsAlot is its ability to remember context:

1. Follow-Up Questions – After receiving the initial summary, you could ask, “Why did March dip compared to February?” The assistant will reference previous data and identify potential causes.
2. Drill Down – Ask, “Break down April sales by region.” The assistant produces a new chart segmented by geography.
3. What-If Scenarios – Pose hypothetical questions such as, “Assuming a 5 % increase in ad spend, how might that impact next quarter’s revenue?”

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4. Interacting with Visualisations

All charts are interactive:

• Hover to see exact values.
• Click legend items to toggle lines or bars.
• Export charts as images for presentations.

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5. Sharing Insights

When you discover something noteworthy, click Share. You can:

• Copy a secure link for read-only access.
• Toggle whether the chat is public to anyone with the link or restricted to invited users.

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6. Saving & Organising Chats

Chats auto-save in the sidebar. You can rename them to reflect the topic, archive stale threads, or duplicate a conversation when you want to branch your analysis.

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7. Collecting Feedback

Collaboration is integral. If you share the chat, collaborators can leave structured feedback directly within the thread. You’ll receive notifications and can respond inline, creating a seamless feedback loop.

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8. Next Steps

Now that you know how to converse with your data, dive into deeper capabilities such as advanced visualisation and external integrations in the Guides section.