How to Use Claude Dashboards: Step by Step, With Prompts

Most business owners I talk to have the same problem with their numbers. The data exists, somewhere, but getting a straight answer out of it means waiting for someone technical, wrestling a spreadsheet or giving up and going with your gut.

Anthropic's new Claude Dashboards feature is aimed at exactly that. You connect your data, ask a question in plain English, and Claude writes the queries and builds a dashboard for you. Here's how it works, who can use it, and how to ask it questions that get you useful answers rather than pretty charts.

What are Claude Dashboards?

Claude Dashboards turn questions about your company's data into dashboards. You connect a data warehouse or another app, ask a question in plain language, and Claude writes the queries and builds the dashboard.

Under the hood, a dashboard is an artifact made from the Dashboards template. Claude writes a SQL query for each chart and runs it against your data source. You don't need to know SQL to use it, but you can see it: each chart shows its query, so you know exactly what it's counting, along with when its data was last refreshed. Anthropic says Claude keeps the dashboard current as the data changes.

Who can use Claude Dashboards?

• Claude Dashboards is in beta on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans.
• On Enterprise plans it's off by default until an owner turns it on in Organization settings > Artifacts. Owners can also limit it to specific groups with custom roles.
• It counts toward your plan's usage limits, like the rest of your work with Claude.

What data can Claude Dashboards connect to?

Before you build anything, you connect the data you want to ask about. Anthropic lists two kinds of source:

• A data warehouse: your company's data platform, such as Amazon Redshift, BigQuery, ClickHouse, Databricks or Snowflake.
• Other apps you've connected to Claude: Anthropic's example is asking for a dashboard of your Salesforce opportunities.

If your numbers live mainly in spreadsheets and a handful of marketing apps, check which of them you can connect to Claude before you plan around this. I'd rather you knew that up front than found out halfway through.

How do you create a dashboard in Claude?

1. Connect your data. Link your warehouse or the app that holds the numbers.
2. Start a dashboard. Ask Claude for one in any chat, or select "Output" in the message box and choose "Dashboards". You can also go to the Artifacts tab, pick a Dashboards template and describe what you want.
3. Ask a real question. Say what you want to know, and name the table or app if you know where the data lives.
4. Check the queries. Click any number to see the query behind it, or ask Claude to explain it.
5. Refine it. Ask for a filter, a different time view or a new chart in the chat.

Every dashboard you create is saved in the Artifacts tab.

How should you word a Claude Dashboards prompt?

This is the part most people will get wrong, so it's worth slowing down. Anthropic's own tip is to say what you want to know, not just what to chart. A request for "a signups chart" gives you a chart. A question about how signups by channel over the past four weeks compare with the four weeks before gives you an answer.

I'd go one step further and tell Claude what decision the dashboard is for. Here's the template I'd use.

Copy this prompt

Build a dashboard from [warehouse / connected app, and the table if you know it].
The question I need answered: [your question in plain English].
The decision it will help me make: [for example, where to put more time next week].
Show it by [week / month] and split it by [channel / product / region / owner].
For every chart, tell me in one sentence what it's counting.
Flag anything that looks odd, such as gaps, duplicates or a sudden jump.

And here's a short one for a first look at a data source you haven't explored before:

Copy and paste this prompt

Using [data source], build a simple dashboard that answers three questions:
What's going up? What's going down? What's changed the most recently?
Keep it to a few charts, and explain each one in plain words underneath.

Which questions are worth asking first?

Start with the questions you ask out loud every week and never quite get answered. For most small businesses, they look something like this:

• Where are new enquiries or signups coming from, and has that mix changed recently?
• Which products or services are growing, and which have gone quiet?
• How long do deals sit at each stage before they move or stall?
• Which customers haven't come back, and when did we last hear from them?
• What changed in the week our numbers dipped?

Notice none of these says "make me a bar chart". Ask the question, and let Claude pick a sensible way to show the answer. You can always ask for a different view afterwards.

How do you check a Claude dashboard is right?

This is where I'd be strict, because a confident chart that counts the wrong thing is worse than no chart at all. Claude Dashboards makes checking easier than most tools, so use it.

• Open the query. Every chart shows the query behind it. If it isn't counting what you meant, tell Claude what to change.
• Check the refresh time. Each chart shows when its data was last refreshed.
• Ask Claude to explain a number. If a number surprises you, ask how it was calculated before you act on it.
• Compare one number with a source you trust. Pick a total you already know and make sure the dashboard agrees.

Copy this prompt to check a chart

For the chart called [chart name], explain in plain English:
which table it uses, what it counts, what it leaves out, and any filters applied.
Then tell me one way this number could be misleading.

If you want a second opinion on which numbers matter in the first place, start with this guide to conversion rate as a KPI.

How do you share a Claude dashboard?

Dashboards start private to you. To share one, open it and click "Share". Anthropic also says that when a question needs deeper analysis, you can send the dashboard straight to Amplitude, Grafana, Hex, Mixpanel, Omni, Perplexity, PostHog or Sigma and pick up the analysis there, with Databricks Genie, Looker, monday.com and Tableau listed as coming soon.

What are Claude Dashboards good for, and what aren't they?

Anthropic is clear that dashboards are made for quick, exploratory questions, such as how this week's signups compare with the weeks before. When a question needs deeper analysis, send it to another tool and carry on there.

That's a sensible split. Use Claude Dashboards to get a fast, checkable answer to the question you'd normally put off. Keep your existing analytics tools for the heavy lifting. If you're still deciding which analytics tools deserve a place, I've written about using analytics tools alongside your SEO without drowning in them.

Getting started with Claude Dashboards

Pick one question you've been meaning to answer for weeks. Connect the data that holds it, ask the question in plain English, open the query behind each chart, and check one number against something you trust. If that works, you've just saved yourself a ticket, a spreadsheet and an afternoon.

If you'd like help working out which questions your business should be asking and how to set up Claude to answer them, here's what an AI consultant does and when it's worth bringing one in.

Frequently asked questions

What are Claude Dashboards?

Claude Dashboards is an Anthropic feature, in beta, that turns plain-language questions about your company's data into dashboards. Claude writes a SQL query for each chart, runs it against your data source and shows the query and the last refresh time on every chart.

Which plans can use Claude Dashboards?

Anthropic says Claude Dashboards is in beta on Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans. On Enterprise it's off by default until an owner turns it on in Organization settings > Artifacts.

What data sources work with Claude Dashboards?

Data warehouses such as Amazon Redshift, BigQuery, ClickHouse, Databricks and Snowflake, plus other apps you've connected to Claude, such as Salesforce.

Do I need to know SQL to use Claude Dashboards?

No. Claude writes the SQL for each chart. You can open any chart's query to see what it counts, and ask Claude to explain or change it.

Can I share a Claude dashboard?

Yes. Dashboards start private to you. Open the dashboard and click Share. You can also send it to supported analytics tools for deeper analysis.