dbt Labs, the industry leader in AI-ready structured data standards, announced an innovative suite of AI-powered capabilities designed to accelerate and govern data analysis workflows. These advancements enable analysts of varying technical expertise to effortlessly explore, build, and validate data through natural language or intuitive visual interfaces — all within dbt’s version-controlled environment trusted by data teams worldwide.
The release introduces three transformative tools: dbt Canvas, a visual drag-and-drop interface for seamless model development; dbt Insights, an AI-driven query assistant for rapid analysis and sharing; and an enhanced dbt Catalog, offering comprehensive discovery of global data assets. Additionally, a newly launched cost management dashboard helps organizations optimize their data warehouse spending effectively.
Bridging the Divide Between Self-Service and Data Governance
As Gartner® forecasts that by 2027, “60% of organizations will fail to realize the full value of their AI use cases due to fragmented data governance frameworks,” one key challenge remains: analysts often resort to disconnected, unsupported workflows that compromise data integrity, compliance, and organizational efficiency.
dbt’s latest AI-powered features address this challenge by granting analysts the autonomy to drive insights while maintaining rigorous governance, version control, and alignment with enterprise data policies.
“Data teams today face a fundamental tension – analysts need speed and independence, while organizations require strong governance and security,” said Tristan Handy, founder and CEO of dbt Labs. “Our new AI-powered solutions break down these traditional barriers for data analysts across any skill level and collaborate with developers in the same platform, which will have a significant, positive impact throughout the business.”
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Empowering Analysts Through the Analytics Development Lifecycle
The Analytics Development Lifecycle (ADLC) is a vendor-neutral framework designed to help enterprises scale trusted data products with governance at the core. dbt serves as the data control plane for modern analytics, operationalizing the ADLC through version-controlled, governed workflows.
With the new enhancements, dbt enables downstream analysts to actively engage in the ADLC with these key capabilities:
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dbt Canvas: This visual editing environment leverages drag-and-drop functionality combined with dbt Copilot, a natural language assistant that allows users to describe desired models without requiring deep SQL expertise. By automating governance and quality checks, dbt Canvas reduces dependency on data engineers, fosters collaboration, and accelerates productivity. dbt Canvas is now generally available.
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dbt Insights: An AI-powered query interface that empowers analysts to ask questions and receive answers quickly within a governed workspace. Fully aware of organizational models, data lineage, and governance policies, dbt Insights allows seamless querying, validation, visualization, and sharing using SQL or natural language—eliminating delays caused by data team bottlenecks. This feature is currently in preview.
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Expanded dbt Catalog: Formerly known as dbt Explorer, the Catalog now offers a unified global search experience that includes Snowflake data assets beyond dbt-managed models. Analysts gain a comprehensive, trustworthy view of the enterprise data landscape without switching tools. The enhanced Catalog is generally available, with Snowflake asset exploration in preview. Support for additional data platforms is forthcoming.
“Lowering the technical barrier to entry for data analysts has been important to Tableau from the beginning of the company,” said Dan Jewett, Senior Vice President, Product Management at Tableau. “dbt’s expanded offering is a game changer for customers that are looking to reduce the sizable burden on their data engineering teams, while simultaneously enabling analysts across the business in a meaningful way. It’s a massive step forward for the future of data teams and one we’re thrilled to continue to partner on.”
Real-World Impact: Customer and Partner Perspectives
WHOOP, a leading fitness analytics company, is enthusiastic about the new self-service capabilities.
“As our data needs evolve, empowering analysts with seamless self-exploration becomes increasingly critical,” said William Tsu, Senior Analytics Engineer at WHOOP. “By keeping them within the familiar dbt Catalog they already use daily, dbt’s new analyst offerings enhance discoverability and enable faster, more intuitive, and governed self-service.”
InterWorks, a dbt systems integrator, highlights the potential for dbt Canvas to unlock new efficiencies.
“dbt Canvas is unlocking a future where analysts can build confidently alongside engineers within the same trusted and governed workflows,” said James Wright, Chief Strategy Officer at InterWorks. “We’re excited about how this new development environment will help our customers unlock true self-service while maintaining the standards, security, and collaboration required to scale analytics responsibly.”
