Power BI Copilot: The AI co-pilot that accelerates your work — if you use it right

AI is no longer a pipe dream. It’s already in your inbox, in your search results… and now also in Power BI. With Copilot  , Microsoft has a generative AI tool that helps you with reports, insights, DAX formulas, and more. Sounds like the solution to time pressure and skills gap in data analysis. But: how powerful is Copilot really?

What exactly does Copilot do?

Copilot reads your dataset and uses AI to support you with:

• Automatically writing DAX formulas
• Creating visualizations based on text prompts
• Summarizing trends in understandable language
• Asking data questions — without prior technical knowledge
• Automatic generation of reports or dashboards
• Transforming datasets using AI

For analysts, this means wasting less time on repetitive tasks. For business users, it makes data analysis more accessible and intuitive than ever. Provided your data structure and data quality are in order.

Where is the added value?

• Less technical hassle. You don’t have to write every formula from scratch anymore — Copilot makes a proposal that you just need to refine.
• Quickly set up standard dashboards. Especially useful for recurring questions or classic reports.
• Faster from data to insight. Because Copilot actively recognizes patterns and gives suggestions.

For business users, this lowers the threshold enormously. You don’t have to be a DAX specialist or a Power BI wizard to get value out of data — a good prompt is often enough

But here’s where the tension comes in: if your data model isn’t properly structured, your columns are vaguely named, or you’re promptly ambiguous , Copilot can get it completely wrong. The AI is fast — but not smart in the human sense.

That is why a robust setup and good analytical governance remain crucial. Without clear models, definitions and context, you create confusion instead of insight

You stay in the driver’s seat

AI takes work off your hands, but not the final responsibility. The biggest risks of Copilot are:

• Poor interpretation: Nice visual, wrong conclusion
• False certainty: An answer that sounds convincing, but is not true
• Missed nuance: Copilot doesn’t understand context outside of your data

That is why data analysts, modellers and finance professionals remain crucial. They bring structure, check the logic and ask the right questions.

What do we see in practice?

With well-structured Power BI models, Copilot works surprisingly well. Think of:

• Clear questions such as: “Show the sales growth compared to last year per product line” → strong visual + correct DAX
• Summaries such as: “Revenue increased by 8% on higher sales in Q2”

But with vague prompts (“What happened last month?”) or inconsistent data, we often see:

• Empty graphs
• Incomplete insights
• Suggestions that have nothing to do with the business question

So Copilot only works really well on a solid foundation.

What does that cost?

Copilot in Power BI is only available in a Power BI Premium or Microsoft Fabric environment:

• Power BI Premium P1: from ± €4,200/month
• Microsoft Fabric F2 or higher: starts from ± €225/month

Smart tip: Start with an F2 capacity to test Copilot and monitor your usage.

What can you do with this as an organization?

Copilot is changing who works with data:

• Managers can find answers themselves faster
• Analysts have more time for interpretation and strategy
• BI teams are shifting towards coaching, validation, architecture  and governance

The result? A stronger data culture across the organization — if you invest in the right structure, governance, and training.

Conclusion

Copilot in Power BI is a real accelerator for those who want to work with data in a smarter, faster and more accessible way. It helps you build reports, summarize insights, and generate formulas with natural language. And the great thing is: Copilot continues to develop and expand, which only increases the possibilities

At Cloubis, we ensure that your foundation is solid, your governance is in order and your team is well prepared. Do you immediately see the added value? Then we’ll accelerate together — and if you’re still undecided, we’ll  first build a solid foundation so that everyone in your organization can use Copilot the right way, when you’re ready.