Power BI Update - September 2026

Power BI September 2026 Update

The update focuses on AI-assisted authoring, semantic-model performance and search, web-based modeling and reporting, and improvements to Power Query and report usability.

Generally available

• Agentic authoring: AI agents can help create and update reports and semantic models, then validate their work. Fabric IQ and Work IQ provide business context for the agent.
• Power BI data in Microsoft 365 Copilot: Users can find reports and ask questions answered using existing Power BI business logic, relationships, and measures, with governance and compliance support.
• Fabric IQ plugin for Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork: Connects insights to follow-up actions within the user’s existing workflow.
• Power BI Projects (PBIP), TMDL, and PBIR: Reports and semantic models are represented as human-readable files, supporting source control, code review, programmatic edits, collaboration, and AI-assisted development.
• Reporting updates: General availability includes the Design ribbon, visual calculations for small multiples, Azure Maps improvements, and formatting and usability fixes.
• Report-authoring skills and modeling MCP: The authoring skill supports more visual features, including conditional formatting, visual calculations, and buttons. A service bridge lets an agent edit and validate a remote report without requiring Power BI Desktop.

New and preview capabilities

Power Query, search, and semantic models

• Modern Power Query Editor: Adds a diagram view of queries and their dependencies, a schema-only view for working with columns, indicators and query plans for understanding query folding, and a query-script view for editing the full M code. Dark mode is supported. The demo also shows native query input for the Amazon Redshift connector.
• Approximate distinct count: Available for Import and Direct Lake storage modes. In the example, approximate counting took about half a second compared with 2.5 seconds for an exact count, with less than 1% error. It can be useful for large datasets when speed matters more than exact precision.
• Full-text search and string indexing for semantic models: Full-text indexing enables semantic text matching rather than simple substring matching. The TEXTCONTAINS function returns a match result, while TEXTSIMILARITY returns a relevance score. String indexing speeds up text operations such as search and contains-string queries. Indexing is configured through TMDL or XMLA metadata, then built when the model is refreshed.
• Web-based DirectQuery modeling: Users can create or edit DirectQuery semantic models in the Power BI service, including connecting to Azure SQL, shaping data with Power Query Online, defining relationships, and adding measures. DirectQuery tables can also be changed to Import or Dual storage modes.

Web authoring and collaboration

• Live visual sharing in Outlook on the web: Authors can create a link to a Power BI visual and paste it into an email, where it renders as an interactive visual. Recipients need access to the underlying report. Authors can share either the current filtered view or the report’s default view.
• Power BI web report ribbon: View and edit modes provide organized commands aligned with the Desktop ribbon. Web authoring also gains features such as Format Painter and a Design tab for themes and page formatting.
• Remote Power BI authoring MCP: A Microsoft-hosted MCP server provides authoring tools without a local installation. After registering its endpoint and authenticating with Fabric credentials, an AI agent can create and modify semantic models in Fabric. The demo shows it creating a model from a Lakehouse, including relationships, names, measures, and descriptions.
• Power BI Home customization: Refreshed and modified date columns help users identify current content. Users can select, reorder, or remove columns in the Home list and restore the default layout.
• Copilot access controls: Model editors can prevent read-only users from querying a semantic model through Copilot or remote Microsoft MCP tools. The restriction is reflected in report and data-agent experiences.
• Fabric IQ in report-consumption Copilot: The demo shows Copilot providing reasoning steps, summaries, explanations, and visual results. Users can inspect the DAX query and results or switch between table and DAX-query views. The response uses Fabric visuals.

Report design and usability

• On-object interaction improvements: The Add Data flyout opens only when selected, and titles and subtitles can be controlled separately. New cards, matrices, and tables have titles and subtitles turned off by default when updating the base theme, but these can be enabled later.
• Design ribbon and themes: The ribbon brings theme and page-design controls together, including built-in themes, a community theme gallery, custom theme settings, page size, background, and wallpaper options. New themes include Dark and Soft Dark, with a Versa palette.
• Formatting pane navigation: Section and subsection headers remain visible while scrolling, including in page, canvas, and custom-theme settings.
• Initial chart scroll position: Authors can set charts to open at the beginning or end of the axis. Setting the initial position to the end lets viewers see the latest data first. The option applies to a range of Cartesian chart types.
• Slicer slider formatting: Authors can adjust slider handle fill and border colors, size, selected-range color, and track color. Responsive sliders expose related sizing and formatting options.
• Table and matrix column widths: Report viewers can enter an exact width in pixels using a right-click menu or reset the width to the report author’s published setting.
• User data function details: The formatting pane for a button linked to a data function now shows its workspace, function set, and function name, improving visibility for translytical task flows.
• Visual calculations in small multiples: Visual calculations now work with small multiples, with additional axis options so calculations can account for the small-multiple axis.

Demonstrations and guides

The video includes practical demonstrations of:

1. Power Query diagram and schema views, query folding, query plans, and M-code editing.
2. Sharing an interactive Power BI visual through Outlook on the web.
3. Comparing exact and approximate distinct-count performance.
4. Configuring full-text and string indexing and using the associated text-search functions.
5. Registering the remote authoring MCP and using an AI agent to build a semantic model.
6. Editing a remote report with authoring skills and validating it through the service bridge.
7. Using PBIP/TMDL files and Git to make, track, and apply model and report changes.
8. Creating and editing DirectQuery semantic models in the Power BI service.
9. Restricting Copilot access and inspecting Fabric IQ Copilot’s reasoning and DAX output.
10. Applying report themes and configuring chart, slicer, table, and matrix formatting.

Main speakers and sources

• Adam Saxton: Host and update overview.
• Miguel: Power Query Editor.
• Anita: Live visual sharing in Outlook.
• Monica: Approximate distinct counts, full-text search and indexing, and web DirectQuery modeling.
• Sara: Web report ribbon and PBIP.
• Elena: On-object interaction.
• Rui: Remote authoring MCP.
• Rosie: Power BI Home.
• Harleen: Report-authoring skills and service bridge.
• Jacinda: Copilot access controls and Fabric IQ Copilot.
• Zoe: Design ribbon, formatting pane, and report-formatting improvements.
• Community spotlight: Clarissa Morales, recognized for her Power BI and Fabric community involvement.