Artificial Intelligence and

Machine Learning in Tableau

Prepared by Joshua Gillmore and David Sears
Contents

Visually driven AI and ML.................................................................................... 3

AI throughout the analytics flow....................................................................... 4

Explain Data............................................................................................................. 5

Ask Data.................................................................................................................... 7

Analytics Pane models......................................................................................... 9

Predictive analytics in calculated fields........................................................ 11

Einstein Discovery integration......................................................................... 13

Analytics integration........................................................................................... 16

Extensions.............................................................................................................. 18

Learn more............................................................................................................. 19

About Tableau....................................................................................................... 19
Visually driven AI and ML
At the center of the Tableau experience is seeing and understanding data.

Combining Tableau visual analytics with the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

and Machine Learning (ML) keeps the human at the center of decision-making

while unlocking advanced analytics across the entire organization that is typically

limited to highly technical teams within an organization. The platform’s ease of

use provides users at all levels of expertise the ability to tap into visually-driven,

advanced AI and ML-based analytics to get immediate time to value and uncover

unanticipated insights.

At the core of Tableau’s approach to AI and ML are three themes:

1. A
 I and ML naturally integrate into the users’ workflow to enhance their

analysis while avoiding disrupting their thought process and flow.

2. F
 ull-featured AI and ML capabilities are usable regardless of experience

and expertise.

3. AI and ML results are transparent, interpretable, and trusted.

AI throughout the analytics flow
Tableau offers a complete, integrated analytics platform. AI and ML will enhance

decisions throughout the analytics flow. Whether it’s handling missing data or

understanding the ‘why’ behind a data point, Tableau has integrated central AI and

ML functions to assist human-decision making throughout the analytics flow:

1. Explain Data – Utilize intelligent AI modeling at the click of a button to

quickly understand the Why behind a data point in your Tableau visualization.

2. Ask Data – Create data visualizations and dashboards using simple questions

in natural language.

3. Tableau Analytics Pane – Drag and drop machine learning to predict future

outcomes based on historical data with forecasting, determine future trends

for your data using various models, or understand the relationships between

data points with clustering.

4. I ntegrated Predictive Modeling Functions – Engage in predictive analytics

and fill in missing data using Tableau’s built-in calculated fields.

5. E
 instein Discovery in Tableau – Build AI-powered predictive and prescriptive

analytics with automated & guided model building, and embed these

actionable custom predictions anywhere users can see Tableau.

6. S
 upported R, Python, and MATLAB Integrations – Make the most widely

used data science languages interactive in Tableau with TabPy, Rserve, and the

Analytics Extensions API.

7. T
 ableau AI/ML Extension Ecosystem – Use drag and drop extensions to

take the power of AI and ML Tableau Partner technologies through Tableau’s

Extension Gallery.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 4

Explain Data
Explain Data accelerates analytics by leveraging AI’s power to explain exceptional

data points and their drivers in visualizations with a single click. Based on

advanced statistical modelling, Explain Data presents a focused set of transparent

explanations to answer the why and avoid spending time on dead ends.

Use: Identify potential policy levers in your data for future exploration.
Determine the standout programmatic funding and distribution for a given
postcode at the click of a button. This series of answers means a policymaker
can quickly determine whether funding meets a geographic area’s needs.

Accessing Explain Data is a tool-tip away for all of the data points. This ease of

access enables all users to quickly access augmented intelligence explanations when

they find a data point of interest. No additional input is required as results generate

automatically based on Explain Data’s selection of appropriate data points.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 5

Explain Data will intelligently select the underlying data points to compare and

draw out avenues for the user to explore the “why” behind their data. Explanations

are visualization centric to quickly show the user what’s unique about Explain

Data’s findings. For the more advanced users, selecting the Explain Data fields

under your data in the menu will let them refine the model and experiment with

various combinations on the fly.

The Explanations Window and pre-built worksheets use plain language to

explain the data point’s uniqueness and underlying relationships with other data.

Dive deeper into the insights and transparent explanations through automated

visualizations in the worksheet.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 6

Ask Data
With Ask Data, you can use natural language to ask questions and instantly get

a response right in Tableau without understanding the data’s structure. Answers

come in the form of rich data visualizations without understanding the data

structure to get answers faster. Fully integrated into the Tableau platform, Ask Data

works with existing data sources with one additional step.

Use: Ask Data will democratize any data source with a single step. Evidence
locked up in data now becomes accessible to knowledge workers across the
organization by querying the data through simple conversational language.
This means no drawn-out implementation process to create a dashboard.
Instead, any data source can become the foundation for evidence-based policy.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 7

 Accessing Ask Data is available by selecting any data source within your Tableau

Server. Once in, Ask Data presents a free text query box found throughout popular

search engines. When typing into this intuitive interface using plain language, the

user is then presented with a series of options that Ask Data thinks will answer

their question. Getting at the heart of the answer will usually require refinement,

so Ask Data allows for follow-up questions to delve deeper and provide the

recommended visualization containing the answer or enable the user to select their

preferred option manually.

Ask Data results are

presented directly through
text or intelligently selected
visualizations without a need
for prompting. For users
unfamiliar with the data or
creating visualizations, Ask
Data will automatically create
a visualization to help answer
their questions without
requiring additional expertise.

Advanced users can use Ask

Data to create a new dashboard,
work through complex and
large datasets by asking
probing questions that may
need to find a known value in a
column, or answer questions
on-the-fly during meetings.

While typing queries, Ask Data will show relevant values in the data, their

fields, and suggest functions, such as totals, to produce a visualization. Once the

visualization is generated, visualizations will contain a list of underlying questions

to retrace the thought process behind the visualization.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 8

 Analytics Pane models
The Analytics Pane is Tableau’s equivalent of having a drag and drop machine

learning-enabled statistician on demand. In addition to the typical statistical

workhorses commonly used, like mean and median, the Analytics Pane offers a

series of models to help predict your data’s likely future with forecasting, its overall

patterns with trends, and its closest relationships with clustering.

Use: Understand the likely direction of organization expenditures using

machine learning-based forecasts and trends. Like a rainy day, use this
information to better prepare.

The Analytics Pane is available throughout the visualization creation process in Tableau Desktop to immediately
enrich data through drag and drop functionality. Functions will provide guidelines on the required data to
visualize and produce a series of options with visual queues to help users of all levels make the right decision
and understand how their data will impact the outcome. This drag and drop functionality makes it easy to
experiment and determine the best fit for data-driven decision-making. Further interactions with the data through
visualization will dynamically update the analytics outcomes to continue assisting human-driven decisions.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 9

 Tableau is using machine learning intelligence to select the best fit models based on

available data. Users of all levels applying these models will benefit from Tableau’s

intelligent guidance for the best fit. Additional visual cues throughout the drag and

drop process make it intuitive and easy to understand what data the analytics is

considering and the type of outcome a user expects. This simple method to apply

models means experimentation for users to find the best suit quickly.

Tableau automatically
produces visual
confidence bands
where applicable or
allows users to generate
model descriptions that
will provide in-depth
information on underlying
information that may
include descriptive
statistics, formulas, or
variables, to name a few.

Once the calculation is complete, the calculated field becomes a part of the drag and

drop selection for inclusion in dashboards for visual exploration.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 10

 Predictive analytics in calculated fields
Tableau’s Calculated Fields produce data on the fly using intuitive functions akin

to those found in widely-used spreadsheet software. Predictive analytics functions

are available within the list of functions to help fill in missing data and understand

how changes in data are likely to affect the outcomes in other places. Generating

these new calculated fields means they become available for users to integrate into

their visualization or for analytics consumers to see the results as they explore

visualizations.

Use: A perfect world contains perfect data. Real-world scenarios generally have
missing and incomplete data. Predictive modeling can fill these holes in your
data using previous values or other sources to ensure continuity and fewer
assumptions in your decision-making process.

Creating a calculated
field is as simple as right-
clicking on the Data Pane
and selecting the option.
A series of functions are
available for the analyst
to choose that include the
two predictive functions.
Entering these functions
will prompt the user to
specify the required
dimensions or measure,
in addition to validating
to ensure all the required
data is present.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 11

Analysts and data scientists are the users who will intuitively understand how to

create predictive outcomes that will benefit key business questions. Once created,

these calculated fields are available for use by the broader group of business

users when making Tableau visualizations and analytics consumers exploring

visualizations with predictive embedded.

Any visualization containing the predictive calculation will appear in a pill where

a user can open up the calculated field to understand further the fields feeding the

predictive calculation and any comments originally included.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 12

Einstein Discovery integration
With Einstein’s powerful AI technology, you can quickly operationalize predictive

intelligence for your entire organization in Tableau without writing a single line of

code. Einstein Discovery automatically examines millions of data points from many

sources, enabling analysts to rapidly train and deploy predictive models. Tableau

surfaces predictions, allows for visual interactivity to explore possible outcomes,

and includes the underlying reasons for the predictions.

Use: Einstein Discovery will help process a pile of grant applications and reduce
total time on the evaluation. By taking your previous grant applications and
their outcomes, Einstein will provide predictive insights that will help identify
high-quality referrals and provide explanatory insights when you need to shift
your funding portfolio and assess additional risk.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 13

Einstein Discovery in Tableau integrations benefit business users to seasoned data scientists. The new

dashboard extension arms Tableau users with automated discovery, no-code machine learning that

builds automated predictions, bias protection, and transparent predictive analytics within consumable

Tableau visualizations for business users. Einstein Discovery calculated fields allow seasoned analysts to

generate new data using Einstein Discovery to enable users with a drag and drop feature into Tableau

visualizations for real-time predictions. The Tableau Prep upstream predictive data enrichment means

that Tableau users of all levels downstream benefit from advanced analytics and predictive factors

towards better decision-making.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 14

 Einstein Discovery provides predictions in a consolidated view that identified

top predictors, the relationship strength to the outcome, and the strength.

Going deeper into Einstein will reveal additional findings and details on the

models supporting the outcome. Integration within Tableau will display the raw

data underpinning the predictions by record for visualization and sharing.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 15

 Analytics integration
When you convert your Python, R or Matlab scripts to run in Tableau, you open up

a world of new opportunities and democratize data science by making advanced

algorithms accessible to everyone in your organization with a simple drag and

drop. It also allows your teams to see, understand, and explore a script’s results in a

visual, interactive format.

Use: Deep learning and natural language processing is typically tricky for an
analyst, subject matter experts, and decision-makers to interpret. Pairing the
underpinning technologies with data visualization in Tableau means opening
up these technologies for programmatic and policy decisions in a consumable
format that minimizes the data science team’s overhead and allows them to
focus on their expertise, data science.

Tableau Prep and Desktop

include multiple locations
to integrate Python and
R scripts. Connecting to
TabPy or R services is a
simple process that can be
started in as little as two
values. Implementing a
script is a guided process
in the Tableau Prep user
interface. It uses Tableau’s
built-in calculated fields
in Tableau Desktop by
including the script
directly in the prompt.

Even users without any scripting background can connect scripts for enrichment

upstream in Tableau Prep, or use the visual queues in Tableau Desktop. This means

that complex scripts created by data scientists are available for use within the

Tableau analytics process. Re-use of content previously created in future dashboards

is also an option to take advanced analytics in new directions. Tableau offers more

advanced solutions for more experienced users by combining data generated on the

fly through calculated fields or tapping into stored predictive models using TabPy.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 16

Rserve and TabPy consoles and logs provide real-time feedback on the functions

being performed and issues encountered. Throughout the process, users can open

up the R or Python functions being applied in the calculated fields or use Tableau

Prep to access the script’s location for direct access with the proper permissions.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 17

 Extensions
Tableau Extensions are widely available through the Tableau Extension Gallery and

maintain a simple drag and drop approach for implementation. Tableau has a rich

ecosystem of partners utilizing the Tableau Extension ecosystem to enhance and

augment Tableau’s data Visualization capabilities that include extensions with AI

and ML capabilities.

Use: An AI and ML technological revolution is abounding. Several of these

technologies exist across many Tableau partners. Extensions allow for simple
integration to realize all the benefits of these technologies in your Tableau
analytics workflow. This means plain language interpretation of your results in
Tableau by combining the natural language generation technologies.

Extensions will typically Newly created enriched data in these extensions may assist with predictive
contain simple graphical
user interfaces for any outcomes, scenario analysis, and what-if analysis. Combining this enriched
level of Tableau user to
data with Tableau visualizations will allow for real-time exploration of results
simplify enrichment of
their data using AI and that update on-the-fly through Tableau user interaction. In some instances, the
ML technologies with no
programming required. extension may include new data visualizations natively built on the AI and ML

results to assist with the analytics process for all experience levels.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 18

Learn more
Tableau’s latest releases

Government Analytics

Federal Civilian Analytics

Defense Intelligence Analytics

State and Local Analytics

About Tableau
Organizations around the world are using Tableau to share data and insights and keep their
employees and citizenscitizend engaged. Find out how our platform can help your organization
to see and understand their data by enabling self-service analytics, allowing collaboration, and
swift insight-to-action. Try Tableau for free today.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tableau 19