A little over a year ago, Google teased using natural language to get data from Google Analytics just by asking. That “asking a question” functionality has now arrived in Google Analytics and Google Analytics 360 globally.
The aim is to make it much easier for people throughout an organization to be able to get information they need without having to rely on data analysts or needing deep familiarity with the Google Analytics interface. Data analysts will have more time to focus on strategy, and the rest of the organization can get the information they need to understand how the business is performing online, the thinking goes.
What is Analytics Intelligence?
The new ability to ask questions builds on the Google Now-like automated insights that came to the Google Analytics mobile apps last fall. The insights surface data the system thinks will be useful to the person who is logged in, meaning they are tailored to the kinds of data and insights that user has engaged with.
Roughly 20 percent of Google Analytics’ 700,000+ monthly app users are viewing those automated insights in Intelligence monthly, according to the company.
The ability to use natural language to ask questions in Google Analytics has been years in the making and relies on Google’s artificial intelligence technology, which until now, has been used solely in consumer applications like search.
