ThoughtSpot is developing a new generation of AI agents for data analysis, aiming to make business intelligence more proactive and action-oriented.

From Passive Reporting to Active Decisions

According to Jane Smith, field chief data and AI officer at ThoughtSpot, agentic systems are shifting the focus from passive reporting to a more active decision-making process. Instead of waiting for the user to find information, these agents continuously monitor data from various sources, diagnosing changes and automating subsequent actions.

Data Democratization and Semantic Layer

ThoughtSpot aims for data democratization but also emphasizes the importance of a solid semantic layer. This layer is crucial to enable agents to understand the business context and make informed decisions. Without a thorough understanding of the business, AI agents risk generating inaccurate or misleading results.

AI Agents in Action

ThoughtSpot has launched four new BI agents designed to work as a team and provide modern analytics. Spotter 3, the latest version of an agent introduced at the end of 2024, can interact with applications like Slack and Salesforce. It can answer questions, assess the quality of its answers, and continue searching until it gets the correct result.

Decision Intelligence and Traceability

ThoughtSpot promotes an emerging architecture called 'decision intelligence' (DI), which aims to make every decision, whether human or AI, explainable, improvable, and reliable. This architecture involves 'decision supply chains,' where decisions go through repeatable stages of data analysis, simulation, action, and feedback. All interactions between humans and machines are recorded in a decision tracking system.

A practical example is clinical trials in the pharmaceutical industry, where the system records every step of selecting a patient for a clinical trial, from using health data to identify a candidate, to simulation against the study protocol, and the doctor's recommendation. These processes can be audited and improved for subsequent studies.