
Use **AI Dashboard Builder** when you want to build or change a dashboard in plain language instead of doing each step manually.

You can use it to add a single widget, create a comparison view, reorganize the layout, or update the whole dashboard.

## Open AI Dashboard Builder

1. Open a channel.
2. Click the **Dashboards** tab.
3. Open the dashboard you want to update, or create a new dashboard first.
4. Open the **AI Assistance** panel on the right side of the dashboard.
5. Use the **Build** tab when you want AI to create or change the dashboard.

![Dashboard with the AI Assistance panel open on the right side.](/docs/dashboards/ai-dashboard-builder/01-ai-assistance-panel.png)

## Start with a suggestion or your own request

The **Build** tab can suggest common dashboard improvements for you.

![AI build tab showing suggested dashboard improvement prompts.](/docs/dashboards/ai-dashboard-builder/02-build-suggestions.png)

## Describe what you want to build or change

You can enter a very specific request or a broad goal.

Examples:

- Build a production dashboard with a KPI, a grouped KPI by line, and a time series for output.
- Create a quality dashboard with drilldown by line then shift.
- Make me a dashboard based on the data.
- Add a side-by-side Bandsaw 1 vs Bandsaw 2 performance view.

![AI build request entered in the dashboard assistant.](/docs/dashboards/ai-dashboard-builder/03-build-prompt-entered.png)

The assistant can:

- add widgets to the dashboard
- change the layout
- update the dashboard title or description
- choose **Data Research** widgets such as **KPI**, **Grouped KPI**, **KPI Table**, **Column**, **Bar**, **Pie**, and **Time series**
- add drilldown when it improves the analysis
- organize the result for desktop, tablet, and mobile

You can ask for changes such as:

- add a KPI overview
- add a side-by-side comparison widget
- change this layout to work better on mobile
- add a filter and move it to the top
- reorganize this dashboard so the most important widgets appear first

## See the change before you apply it

While AI is working, the panel shows a short thinking state.

![AI build flow showing the request in progress.](/docs/dashboards/ai-dashboard-builder/04-thinking-state.png)

After the change is generated, review:

- the explanation of what AI changed
- the widget list
- the preview that appears on the dashboard
- the updated layout and placement

This gives you a clear view of the result before you apply it.

![AI preview showing the suggested widget and summary before applying.](/docs/dashboards/ai-dashboard-builder/05-ai-draft-preview.png)

## Apply the change

When the result looks right:

1. Click **Apply** in the preview.
2. Save the dashboard when you are happy with the result.

The change stays local until you apply it, so you stay in control of what goes onto the dashboard.

## When drilldown is useful

Drilldown works best when the dashboard question has a natural second level.

Examples:

- line, then shift
- site, then device
- product, then sku

If the dashboard only needs a simple summary, a single grouping is usually better.

## See the result on the dashboard

After you apply the change, the new widget or dashboard update appears directly on the page.

![Dashboard showing the AI-generated comparison widget after it was applied.](/docs/dashboards/ai-dashboard-builder/06-applied-widget-result.png)

This makes AI useful both for big dashboard changes and for quick one-off updates.

## Read next

- [Using Dashboards](/docs/dashboards/overview) - Broader dashboard workflow.
- [Data Research Widgets](/docs/dashboards/data-research-widgets) - Refine widget setup after the change is applied.
- [Layout and Editing](/docs/dashboards/layout-and-editing) - Adjust the layout manually after generation.


Use AI Dashboard Builder to add widgets, change layout, and update the dashboard from a plain-language request.

AI Dashboard Builder


Use **Custom** when you want full control over the data source structure.

This is the best option when you already know which fields you need and want to build the setup yourself instead of starting from a prebuilt AI template.

## Start a custom data source

1. Open a channel.
2. Click the **Data Sources** tab.
3. Click **Add Data Source**.
4. Choose **Custom**.

![Add Data Source dialog showing Custom as one of the available types.](/docs/data-sources/create-a-data-source/01-create-dialog.png)

## Build the structure

The shared editor opens so you can:

- enter the title
- add a description
- use **Add Field**
- review the preview while you work

![Custom data source editor with title, description, Add Field, and preview.](/docs/data-sources/create-a-data-source/02-custom-data-source-editor.png)

## Review the fields you are creating

As you add fields, the editor shows the field settings on the left and the live result on the right.

![Data source editor showing field settings and the live preview.](/docs/data-sources/custom-data-source/01-editor-fields.png)

This makes it easier to shape the form as you go and confirm that the fields will look right for the people filling it out.

## Use AI if you want a faster first draft

If you do not want to start from a blank structure, open **AI Assist** and describe the data source you want. Zira can draft the first version for you before you refine it.

## Read next

- [Create and Edit](/docs/data-sources/create-and-edit/overview) - Learn the shared editor in more detail.
- [AI Assist](/docs/data-sources/create-and-edit/ai-assist) - Generate a first draft with AI.
- [Fields and Structure](/docs/data-sources/create-and-edit/fields-and-structure) - Add and organize the fields.


Create a custom data source when you want to build the title, fields, and structure yourself.

Custom Data Source


Connect a site to **Claude** and you can ask about your operation the way you would ask a
supervisor. Claude looks the answer up in your live Zira data — you do not copy readings into a chat
window or paste answers back out.

> **In beta.** This is new and we are still refining it. It works, and we would like to hear how it
> goes for you.

## Before you start

- You need to be signed in to Zira, and you need access to the site you want to connect.
- You need Claude — the desktop app, Claude Code, or another assistant that accepts a connection
  address.
- **One connection covers one site.** If you look after several sites, connect each one you want
  Claude to reach.

## Connect a site

1. Click your **profile picture** in the top right and choose **Connect to Claude**.
2. Under **Which site?**, search for and pick the site.
3. Under **What can Claude do?**, choose **Look only** or **Look and act**.
4. Click **Connect to Claude**.
5. Pick your assistant from the tabs — **Claude Code**, **Claude Desktop**, or **Something else** —
   then click **Copy** and paste what you copied where the page tells you.

![The Connect to Claude panel with a site chosen and Look and act selected.](/docs/ai/connect-to-claude/01-connect-panel.png)

That is the whole setup. Claude Code picks the connection up in your next session; Claude Desktop
reads it when it starts, so restart it.

## Choose what Claude may do

| Choice | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| **Look only** | Claude can read your data and nothing else. It cannot create, change, or post anything. |
| **Look and act** | Claude can create and update tasks, post readings, and post to channels — and asks you before each one. |

**Look only** is a good way to start. You can come back and connect again with **Look and act** once
you are comfortable.

## Copy the connection line before you close the page

The connection line is shown **once**. Copy it straight away — if you lose it, come back and connect
again.

Treat it like a password. Anyone who has it can reach that site. If you stop using a connection, or
you think the line has leaked, remove it from that site's **Applications** tab.

## Ask about your operation

Once connected, ask the kind of question you would ask on the floor:

- *"Why did the trim saw stall last night? Check its readings around 22:00."*
- *"What was yesterday's output on line 3?"*
- *"Show me the open tasks for the Rehovot plant."*

Claude finds the right data source by name and looks the readings up itself. You do not need to know
which metric or device to point it at.

## Let Claude do the work

With **Look and act**, Claude can open and update tasks, record readings, set a device's status, and
post an update to a channel.

Claude asks you before each one. Treat that as a real confirmation — **creating a task notifies the
person it is assigned to, and posting to a channel is visible to everyone following it.**

## Tips

- **Ask for names, not IDs.** "The bandsaw in Plant 2" is enough — Claude searches for it.
- **Keep time ranges narrow.** "Last night between 21:00 and 23:00" gets a fast, precise answer;
  "this year" returns more than Claude can read at once.
- **It cannot see everything.** A connection covers data sources, readings, tasks and files.
  Dashboards, forms and vision models are not reachable this way.

## Let Claude read the guides too

There is a second, separate connection that gives Claude the Zira help center — the product guides,
the API reference, and the release notes. It is public and read-only, so it needs no setup beyond
the address. Teams that add both get answers grounded in how Zira actually works.

## Read next

- [Connect Zira to Claude — step by step](/developers/how-to-guides/connect-zira-to-claude)
- [Connect the documentation](/developers/how-to-guides/connect-the-documentation-mcp-server)
- [Home AI Assistant](/docs/ai-assistance/home-ai-assistant)
- [Tasks](/docs/tasks/channel-tasks)


Connect a site to Claude and ask about your operation in plain language — Claude reads your live Zira data, and can open tasks and post updates when you let it.

Browse Guides

AI Dashboard Builder

Open AI Dashboard Builder

Start with a suggestion or your own request

Describe what you want to build or change

See the change before you apply it

Apply the change

When drilldown is useful

See the result on the dashboard

Read next