Power BI in Assistant

Power BI in Assistant allows users to ask natural-language questions about Power BI reports and current data in governed semantic models. Power BI indexing supplies discovery and routing context, while Microsoft Fabric IQ MCP supplies live schema and query results.

How it works

1. Glean uses indexed Power BI assets to identify a relevant report, dashboard, workspace, or semantic model.
2. Assistant retrieves report metadata or semantic-model schema when it needs more context.
3. Assistant generates Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) and executes them against the selected semantic model through Fabric IQ MCP.
4. Power BI evaluates the requesting user’s access, including row-level security, at query time.
5. Assistant explains the result and can link back to the related Power BI asset.

Live query results are not added to the Power BI connector index.

Requirements

Power BI setup in Glean has two parts. First, set up Power BI indexing in the Microsoft 365 suite setup. Then, in the same Power BI setup, open Connect tools to configure the delegated OAuth app for live Assistant queries.

Before you connect Power BI to Assistant, confirm the following additional requirements:

• A tenant whose home region supports all Fabric workloads. Fabric IQ MCP is not available in Power BI-only regions or sovereign clouds.
• Permission to create a single-tenant Microsoft Entra app registration.
• A client secret for the delegated OAuth app.
• Access to each Power BI report or semantic model that the user should query.
• Users who will query Power BI must be able to authorize the delegated OAuth app with their own Microsoft identity.

Configure the delegated OAuth app

1. Create a second Microsoft Entra app registration. Do not reuse the connector service principal app.
2. In the Microsoft Entra admin center, open App registrations > New registration. On the Register an application page, enter these values:
   • Name: Glean Fabric IQ MCP
   • Supported account types: Accounts in this organizational directory only (single tenant)
   • Redirect URI: Leave blank for now. You will add the Web redirect URI after Glean displays it.
3. In the app registration, open API permissions > Add a permission, select Power BI Service, choose Delegated permissions, and add:
   • Item.Read.All
   • Item.Execute.All
   • Dataset.Read.All
4. In API permissions > Add a permission, select Microsoft Graph, choose Delegated permissions, and add:
   • offline_access
5. If your tenant’s consent policy prevents users from consenting to these permissions, use your organization’s admin approval workflow. These permissions do not require administrator consent by default.
6. Open Certificates & secrets > Client secrets > New client secret and create a secret. Copy the secret’s Value immediately and keep it with the app’s Application (client) ID for Connect tools in Glean.

Connect tools in Glean

After configuring the delegated OAuth app in Microsoft Entra ID, return to Glean to connect it:

1. Open the Microsoft 365 suite setup and select Power BI.
2. Open Connect tools. This step is available after Set up indexing is complete.
3. For Network access, keep Public endpoint unless your Microsoft Fabric organization has Private Link enabled. If it does, select Private Link.
4. Enter the delegated OAuth app’s Application (client) ID and Client secret.
5. Copy the Redirect URI shown in Glean.
6. Return to the app registration in Microsoft Entra ID. Open Authentication > Add a platform > Web, enter the Redirect URI from Glean, and save the configuration.
7. Confirm that the delegated permissions listed in Glean match the permissions in the app registration.
8. Select Connect and complete the Microsoft authorization flow.
9. Review the setup and save the tools configuration.

The redirect URI is deployment-specific. Always copy the current value shown in Glean instead of using an example from another deployment.

Available Fabric IQ MCP tools

Glean exposes the following read and query tools from Fabric IQ MCP for live Assistant workflows. For Microsoft’s setup and tool documentation, see Connect to Fabric IQ MCP.

Tool	What it does
DiscoverArtifacts	Searches for Power BI reports and semantic models by name.
ResolveFabricItem	Resolves the URL of a supported Microsoft Fabric item for use by other tools.
GetReportMetadata	Retrieves metadata for a Power BI report.
GetSemanticModelSchema	Retrieves schema information for a semantic model.
ValueSearch	Searches a semantic model for specific stored values when available.
ExecuteQuery	Runs DAX against one semantic model and returns current results for the authenticated user.

Fabric IQ MCP replaces Microsoft’s earlier Power BI MCP consumption endpoint (preview) for this integration. Fabric IQ adds DiscoverArtifacts, ResolveFabricItem, and ValueSearch; retains GetReportMetadata, GetSemanticModelSchema, and ExecuteQuery; and does not expose the preview endpoint’s GenerateQuery tool. Glean generates DAX using indexed Power BI context and the live metadata returned by Fabric IQ, then calls ExecuteQuery.

Manage Fabric IQ MCP tool access in Glean

Glean admins can control who can see and invoke the Fabric IQ MCP tools separately from Power BI permissions. Glean access settings do not grant access to Power BI data; Fabric IQ still evaluates each user’s delegated permissions and row-level security at query time.

Set visibility for the tool pack

To control which users can use the Power BI tools in Glean:

1. In the Glean Admin console, navigate to Tools and open the Power BI tool pack.
2. Open the Configuration tab and select Edit settings under Enable tools.
3. Choose the surfaces where the tools should be available, such as Chat, Agents, or Glean MCP Server.
4. Under Access, choose All teammates, Specific departments, or Specific teammates, then select Save.

For more information, see Manage tool access.

Set access for individual tools

For tool packs that support per-tool controls, a Glean admin can open the Glean MCP server that contains the Power BI tools, select Add tools, open the External Tools tab, and select Tool advanced settings. The settings group tools as Read tools or Write tools. Use each tool’s Access menu to choose All teammates, Specific departments, or Specific teammates.

The Power BI tools documented here are read and query tools only. They appear under Read tools and do not modify Power BI reports, dashboards, workspaces, or semantic models. For details, see Managing tool access.

Generate DAX queries

This section applies to live Assistant questions, not Power BI indexing. To answer a question with current data, Assistant uses indexed Power BI context with Fabric IQ MCP metadata to generate a Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) query. It then calls ExecuteQuery to run the DAX and return current results for the authenticated user. This flow does not require Power BI Copilot.

Assistant should prefer existing measures and the governed semantic model behind a report rather than attempting to calculate answers from dashboard labels or indexed metadata alone.

Permissions and security

Search visibility and live query access are separate controls:

• Glean’s index controls whether a user can discover a Power BI object in Search.
• Power BI evaluates the user’s delegated access when Assistant runs a live query.
• The user must be able to access the target report or semantic model. Fabric IQ MCP does not require a workspace role or Build permission on the semantic model.
• Power BI row-level security continues to apply at runtime for delegated user queries.
• The connector service principal handles indexing and does not provide the user’s live query permissions.

Glean uses Fabric IQ MCP for read and query operations. It does not modify Power BI reports, dashboards, workspaces, or semantic models.