Building Dashboards and Choosing the Right Chart

Single charts answer single questions. A dashboard answers several at once by putting the right charts on one view, and the skill that makes a dashboard readable is choosing the right chart for each question. This tutorial closes the series by covering both.

Table of Contents

• Dashboard Charts
• Choosing the Right Chart
• Let AI Suggest the Chart
• Best Practices

Dashboard Charts

A dashboard is a single sheet (or report page) that shows several charts and key numbers together, so one look answers "how is the business doing?". The charts don't have to be new types — you reuse the column, line, pie, and the rest from this series.

Example prompt:

Build a dashboard: total sales as a big number, sales by region as a column chart, monthly sales as a line, and a pie of sales by product.

AI lays out a KPI number, the column chart, the line chart, and the pie on one view. Read left to right you get the headline (total), the balance (regions), the trend (months), and the mix (products). Four questions, one screen.

Because the charts share the same Sales table, every chart updates together when the table changes — the dashboard stays live. To filter the whole dashboard by one field, add a slicer on, say, Region; click "East" and every chart redraws for the East only.

Choosing the Right Chart

The best chart is the one that answers the question. Match the question to the type:

Keep this table in mind when you write any prompt — naming the right chart type is half the battle.

Let AI Suggest the Chart

If you're unsure which chart fits, ask AI instead of guessing:

Look at the Sales table and suggest the best chart to show sales by region. Explain why.

AI answers with a recommendation and a reason — usually a column chart, because you're comparing four categories. You can go further and ask it to pick the chart itself:

Analyze the table and create the most appropriate chart for it automatically.

Use the automatic route for a quick first read, then switch to explicit types once you know the story you want to tell.

Best Practices

• One question per chart. A chart answering "both this and that" usually answers neither.
• Limit a dashboard to four or six charts; more and the eye has nowhere to land.
• Keep a title on every chart so the dashboard reads like a report, not a puzzle.
• Let AI suggest, then override with your judgment — AI doesn't know what question you're actually asking.