Data handling & AI governance · Reliability and controls
Which BI tools' AI assistants respect row-level security?
9 of 15 tools do, according to their public docs, and 4 partly.
Yes: Snowflake, Omni, Hex, Sigma, BigQuery, Looker, Tableau, Metabase, MotherDuck. Partly: Databricks, Power BI, Alteryx, Mode.
The question we asked: Do your existing row-level security and column permissions apply to what the BUILT-IN assistant returns?
Grading standard
yes: the documentation states that the built-in assistant answers under the asking user's identity, so existing row-level and column-level rules apply. Dataset-level or object-level permissions only, or row and column rules that some AI surfaces documentedly bypass, are partly.
Databricks
Partly
Quoted from Databricks’s docsRow filters and column masks defined in Unity Catalog are automatically enforced per user.
Source: docs.databricks.com/aws/en/genie-agents/concepts · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Snowflake
Yes
Quoted from Snowflake’s docsSeamless governance: Automatically inherits and respects all existing Snowflake data governance controls, including row-access policies and column-level security.
Source: docs.snowflake.com/en/user-guide/snowflake-cortex/snowflake-cowork · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Omni
Yes
Quoted from Omni’s docsPermissions — Every AI query respects row-level security and user-level access controls. Users only see data they're authorized to access.
Source: docs.omni.co/ai · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Hex
Yes
Quoted from Hex’s docsOAuth data connections can run each query under a user's warehouse identity, so warehouse permissions apply in Hex.
Source: learn.hex.tech/docs/connect-to-data/data-connections/oauth-data-connections · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Gemini
Sigma
Yes
Quoted from Sigma’s docsFor example, if row-level security or column-level security is applied to a data source, Sigma Assistant only works with data that you have access to.
Source: help.sigmacomputing.com/docs/ask-natural-language-queries-with-assistant · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
BigQuery
Yes
Quoted from BigQuery’s docsWhen a user interacts with an agent, the API queries the connected data source by using that user's credentials.
Source: docs.cloud.google.com/gemini/data-agents/conversational-analytics-api/access-control · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Looker
Yes
Quoted from Looker’s docsLooker then uses the LookML definitions of these fields and other logic that's defined in the Explore — including field definitions, access grants or user attributes, user-defined dashboard filters, or complex Liquid or join logic — to compose the query that's sent to the database.
Source: cloud.google.com/looker/docs/conversational-analytics-overview · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Tableau
Yes
Quoted from Tableau’s docsThe data a user has access to while using Tableau Agent conforms to any row or column-level security policies that you have in place.
Source: help.tableau.com/current/online/en-us/web_author_einstein.htm · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Power BI
Partlypreview
Quoted from Power BI’s docsRow-level security (RLS) and object-level security (OLS) aren't fully supported as security features for verified answers.
Source: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-bi/create-reports/copilot-prepare-data-ai-verified-answ... · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by GPT
Metabase
Yes
Quoted from Metabase’s docsMetabot inherits the permissions of the person it's chatting with, so you don't need to set permissions specifically for Metabot.
Source: www.metabase.com/docs/latest/ai/settings · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Alteryx
Partly
Quoted from Alteryx’s docsAsk Alteryx only returns assets you have permission to access.
Source: help.alteryx.com/aac/en/ask-alteryx/data-privacy-and-retention.html · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
MotherDuck
Yes
Quoted from MotherDuck’s docsThe agent works using your account permissions, so it can only perform the same actions as your account.
Source: motherduck.com/docs/key-tasks/ai-and-motherduck/agent-chat · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Mode
Partly
Quoted from Mode’s docsOnce opened, you can use it to generate new SQL code on the fly for any warehouse you have Query access to.
Source: mode.com/help/articles/ai-assist · checked Oct 26, 2026 · quoted by Claude
Redshift
Streamlit