Three Eras of Data Access
Conversational business intelligence represents the third major shift in how humans access data.
Era 1: Command Line (1970s-1990s) Only experts could query databases. SQL knowledge was mandatory. Data was locked in IT departments.
Era 2: Dashboards (2000s-2020s) BI tools promised democratization. Drag-and-drop interfaces, visual reports. But someone still had to build the dashboards. Access improved but remained gatekept.
Era 3: Conversational (2020s-) Natural language interfaces. Ask questions, get answers. No SQL, no dashboard building. True self-service. That’s why we built LILA.
We’re at the beginning of Era 3.
What Changes
Access Becomes Universal
When the interface is language, the barrier drops to near zero. The marketing manager who couldn’t use Tableau can ask “how did the Q4 campaign perform?”
Same data. Different accessibility.
Speed Becomes Instant
Dashboard development cycles measured in weeks become query responses measured in seconds. Questions that would have become tickets get answered in meetings.
Questions Become Unpredictable
With dashboards, you can only explore what someone built. With conversation, any question about available data is fair game.
This shifts power from the dashboard builder to the question asker.
Where This Is Going
Multi-Source Queries
Today: One database per conversation. Tomorrow: “Compare our CRM data with Google Analytics and Stripe.”
AI will join data across systems that never talked before.
Proactive Insights
Today: You ask, AI answers. Tomorrow: AI notices patterns and tells you.
“Sales in the Northeast dropped 15% compared to this time last year. Here’s what changed.”
Embedded Intelligence
Today: Data access is a separate app, a dashboard, a widget. Tomorrow: Intelligence embedded in every workflow.
Ask questions in Slack. Get answers in your email. Query data from your calendar app.
Voice-First Data
Today: You type questions. Tomorrow: “Hey Lila, how are sales trending this week?”
The same way voice assistants changed home automation, voice will change data access.
What Won’t Change
Need for Clean Data
AI can’t answer questions about data that doesn’t exist or is inconsistent. Data quality remains foundational.
Human Strategy
AI can tell you what happened. Humans decide what to do about it. Strategy remains a human job.
Privacy and Security
More access means more risk surface. Security architecture becomes more important, not less.
Need for Context
AI needs to understand your business language, your definitions, your exceptions. Context configuration is still required work.
The Adoption Curve
Conversational business intelligence adoption follows a predictable pattern:
Early adopters (now): Tech-forward companies, startups, agencies managing multiple clients. Using text-to-SQL for competitive advantage.
Early majority (1-3 years): Mid-market companies, traditional businesses going digital. Conversational BI becomes expected, not exceptional.
Late majority (3-5 years): Enterprise, regulated industries, government. Formal evaluations, compliance frameworks, standardization.
Laggards (5+ years): Eventually, holding out becomes harder than adopting. Excel exports finally stop.
What We’re Building Toward
LILA today answers questions about your database.
LILA tomorrow:
- Connects to multiple data sources simultaneously
- Alerts you to anomalies before you ask
- Speaks as well as types
- Explains not just what happened, but why
- Suggests actions, not just information
The widget is the first step. The vision is intelligence woven into every business workflow.
The Bet We’re Making
We believe:
- Natural language is the ultimate interface
- Everyone deserves data access, not just analysts
- Speed of insight drives competitive advantage
- The complexity should be hidden, not exposed
That’s why we’re building this.
What This Means For You
If you’re waiting to see how this plays out, here’s the reality:
Companies adopting conversational analytics now are:
- Making faster decisions
- Operating with less analyst overhead
- Enabling more team members to work with data
- Building muscle memory for conversational workflows
The gap between early adopters and laggards will widen.
The Interface of the Future
Dashboards won’t disappear. They’ll become one interface among many.
Sometimes you want a dashboard. Sometimes you want to ask a question. Sometimes you want an alert. Sometimes you want a voice answer while driving.
The future is interface-flexible. The data stays the same. How you access it fits your context.
Ready for the future? Try LILA today