📝 Overview
- Transform raw data into professional visualizations instantly using natural language AI chat instead of complex tools
- Create and share automatically updating data stories that stay synchronized with your live data sources
- Process thousands of data rows in sub-seconds for faster analysis than traditional spreadsheets
- Design compelling data narratives with flexible canvases, branded themes, and decorative elements
- Embed interactive charts directly into your content and collaborate through Slack integration
⚖️ Pros & Cons
Pros
- Real-time data visualization
- Collaboration in real-time
- Natural language inputs
- Fine-grained access controls
- Self-serve data storytelling
- JavaScript based
- Integration capabilities
- Chat with GPT-3
- Instant data visualizations
- Wide template range
- Pre-built visualization tools
- Variety of chart types
- Library of design elements
- Slack and Github Integrations
- Facilitates data sharing
- Management of data catalogs
- Speech-based querying
- Flexible data queries
- Automated data interpretation
- Inclusivity of public data
- Offers popular data searches
- Community tips and practices
- Multiple platform visibility
- Communicates data effectively
- Access via website
- Seamless tool integration
- User-friendly interface
- Newsletter for data storytellers
- Flexible data storytelling
- Visualizing vast data types
- Data platform exploration feature
- In-built data research feature
- Supports multiple chart forms
- Tools for data beautification
- Fast data visualization platform
Cons
- Requires Javascript
- Limited integration options
- Relies on GPT-3
- No desktop app
- Real-time collaboration issues
- Limited icon library
- Unclear data management system
- Limited template variety
- No mentioned multi-language support
- Potentially steep learning curve
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Columns is a data analysis and visualization platform that helps you to create, manage, and share data insights with your audience.
It is a lightweight, AI-powered solution designed for speed, simplicity, and effortless collaboration.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Anyone who loves data storytelling! But it’s especially great for:
• Media professionals – Journalists, editors, and content creators.
• Business leaders – To track KPIs and make data-driven decisions.
• SMB owners – To generate professional insights and seamlessly embed them.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Think of Columns as a powerful visual layer on top of your data. Here are some benefits:
• It makes sharing clean, professional graphs effortless while keeping them automatically updated.
• Columns processes thousands of rows in sub-seconds, whereas spreadsheets can become cumbersome and slow when handling large datasets.
• It makes a lot more beautiful and visuals than Spreadsheets.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:The simple answer: They're overkill.
• Traditional BI tools have a steep learning curve.
• They lack AI-assisted workflows for a seamless experience.
• Sharing and embedding insights is cumbersome.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Live connections include Google Sheets, Airtable, Notion Database, HTTP API, SQL database, and Excel/CSV files upload.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Columns supports a wide range of charts, including bar, line, pie, scatter, map, table, gauge, word cloud, and more.
You can also apply transformations and use chart tools to customize your visualizations in ways that are difficult to achieve elsewhere.
More: https://medium.com/data-science-collective/mastering-data-visualization-common-charts-and-their-variants-90d6502711bc
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:AI chat lives in each creating session, it is a full-context conversation, so you can ask questions or follow up with changes like talking to an assistant.
Here are a few examples to get you started:
• show me some data samples
• what charts can I create?
• could you suggest a minimalistic design?
Demo: https://youtu.be/1cugv1C8Ji0
Columns offers a wide range of templates and pre-built tools for creating charts, graphs, and visualizations. This makes the data visualization process easier and faster, and lets users focus on data analysis and interpretation.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:In your workspace, open the story menu, select "Schedule," and set up automatic updates. Columns will sync your story with your data to keep it up to date.
More: https://docs.columns.ai/docs/tutorial/schedule
The Slack integration with Columns facilitates real-time collaboration and sharing of insights across teams. For example, you can send data visualizations directly to Slack channels or individual members, and they can respond and engage with the data from within the Slack environment.
Icons, images, and shapes in Columns are tools for users to create visually appealing and informative data stories. They add aesthetic value and meaning to data visualizations and make them more comprehensible and engaging for the audience.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Yes! A Columns story is a flexible canvas with a main chart and various decorative elements. You can move, edit, and customize them as needed.
Decorative elements include text, images, arrows, widgets, shapes, and more.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Start by asking AI for help! The AI chat can quickly generate a query for you.
As you become more familiar with Columns, you can build queries yourself using these key components:
• Metrics – The values you want to measure (usually numbers).
• Keys – The dimensions to group by (usually text or time).
• Rules – The conditions to apply.
• Timeline – The time range to analyze.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Yes. Read here - https://columns.ai/faq
You can share insights with your team using Columns through its collaborative features and integrations with different tools. It facilitates simultaneous real-time work on visualizations and allows users to share their work directly through platforms like Slack.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:AI chat lives in each creating session, it is a full-context conversation, so you can ask questions or follow up with changes like talking to an assistant.
Here are a few examples to get you started:
• show me some data samples
• what charts can I create?
• could you suggest a minimalistic design?
Demo: https://youtu.be/1cugv1C8Ji0
Columns offers a wide range of templates and pre-built tools for creating charts, graphs, and visualizations. This makes the data visualization process easier and faster, and lets users focus on data analysis and interpretation.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:In your workspace, open the story menu, select "Schedule," and set up automatic updates. Columns will sync your story with your data to keep it up to date.
More: https://docs.columns.ai/docs/tutorial/schedule
The Slack integration with Columns facilitates real-time collaboration and sharing of insights across teams. For example, you can send data visualizations directly to Slack channels or individual members, and they can respond and engage with the data from within the Slack environment.
Icons, images, and shapes in Columns are tools for users to create visually appealing and informative data stories. They add aesthetic value and meaning to data visualizations and make them more comprehensible and engaging for the audience.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Yes! A Columns story is a flexible canvas with a main chart and various decorative elements. You can move, edit, and customize them as needed.
Decorative elements include text, images, arrows, widgets, shapes, and more.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Start by asking AI for help! The AI chat can quickly generate a query for you.
As you become more familiar with Columns, you can build queries yourself using these key components:
• Metrics – The values you want to measure (usually numbers).
• Keys – The dimensions to group by (usually text or time).
• Rules – The conditions to apply.
• Timeline – The time range to analyze.
Shawn Cao
🛠️ 3 tools
🙏 8 karma
wrote:Yes. Read here - https://columns.ai/faq
You can share insights with your team using Columns through its collaborative features and integrations with different tools. It facilitates simultaneous real-time work on visualizations and allows users to share their work directly through platforms like Slack.
💰 Pricing
Pricing model
Freemium
Paid options from
$75/year
Billing frequency
Yearly
