Data handling & AI governance · Reliability and controls
Which BI tools let admins limit the data AI can use?
6 of 15 tools do, according to their public docs, and 7 partly.
Yes: Snowflake, Hex, Looker, Metabase, Alteryx, Redshift. Partly: Databricks, Omni, Sigma, BigQuery, Tableau, Power BI, MotherDuck.
The question we asked: Can an administrator restrict which data the assistant may use, separately from user permissions?
Grading standard
yes: an administrator can enforce, across the workspace or tenant, a limit on which data the assistant may use, separate from user permissions. A scope the author of each agent sets, or a scope the documentation says is not a security boundary, is partly.
Databricks
Partly
Quoted from Databricks’s docsA Genie Agent uses only the data sources explicitly attached under its Sources.
Source: docs.databricks.com/aws/en/genie-agents/set-up · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Snowflake
Yes
Quoted from Snowflake’s docsAdmin-managed RSS: An administrator sets AGENT_RESTRICTED_SESSION_SCOPE on a session policy, then attaches that policy to the account or to specific users.
Source: docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/restricted-session-scope · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Omni
Partly
Quoted from Omni’s docsControls the topics that are available to the Omni Agent, Chat with Content, MCP, and embedded chat instances.
Source: docs.omni.co/modeling/models/ai-chat-topics · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Hex
Yes
Quoted from Hex’s docsBy default, Explorer users are restricted to Endorsed Mode when using Threads and can only access endorsed assets via the agent.
Source: learn.hex.tech/docs/administration/workspace_settings/enable-ai-and-agents · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Sigma
Partly
Quoted from Sigma’s docsYou can limit Sigma Assistant to use only sources that you specify.
Source: help.sigmacomputing.com/docs/configure-ai-features-for-your-organization · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
BigQuery
Partlypreview
Quoted from BigQuery’s docsTable selection isn't a security setting.
Source: docs.cloud.google.com/gemini/data-agents/conversational-analytics-api/known-limitations · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Gemini
Looker
Yes
Quoted from Looker’s docsThe Gemini role still applies the gemini_in_looker permission to all models on the Looker instance; however, if needed, Looker admins can manually restrict use of Gemini in Looker to specific models by creating and assigning a Looker role with gemini_in_looker permissions on limited models.
Source: cloud.google.com/looker/docs/release-notes · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Tableau
Partlypreview
Quoted from Tableau’s docsAI Access lets a user use Tableau Agent in Dashboards, including Dashboard Overview, Dashboard Insights, and Dashboard Q&A.
Source: help.tableau.com/current/online/en-us/permissions_capabilities.htm · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Power BI
Partly
Quoted from Power BI’s docsUsers with write permissions on a semantic model can control whether users with read-only permissions can access the model through Copilot experiences.
Source: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/create-reports/copilot-semantic-models · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Metabase
Yes
Quoted from Metabase’s docsWhen turned on, Metabot only uses content that's verified, in an official collection, or published to the Library.
Source: www.metabase.com/docs/latest/ai/settings · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Alteryx
Yes
Quoted from Alteryx’s docsTo limit how Ask Alteryx can sample data for all users on a workspace, disable Data Awareness from the Workspace Settings:
Source: help.alteryx.com/aac/en/ask-alteryx/ask-alteryx-in-designer/set-up-ask-alteryx.html · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
MotherDuck
Partly
Quoted from MotherDuck’s docsYou can specify which tables and columns should be considered using the optional include_tables parameter.
Source: motherduck.com/docs/sql-reference/motherduck-sql-reference/ai-functions/sql-assistant · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Redshift
Yes
Quoted from Redshift’s docsThis field is crucial when you want to limit the scope of SQL queries to a defined subset of available tables.
Source: docs.aws.amazon.com/redshift/latest/mgmt/query-editor-v2-generative-ai.html · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Mode
Streamlit