How to Get Better Answers from AskBiz AI

Vague questions produce vague answers. The most common way to improve answer quality is to add specificity:

Less useful: 'How are my sales?'

More useful: 'What was my total Shopify revenue in April 2025 compared to April 2024, and which product categories drove the change?'

The second question specifies:

• Platform (Shopify)
• Metric (total revenue)
• Time period (April 2025)
• Comparison (April 2024)
• Follow-on breakdown (by category)

AskBiz does not need you to format questions like a SQL query — plain conversational English works. But including these four elements (platform, metric, period, comparison) consistently produces better answers.

AskBiz knows your data but not your business context. Adding context dramatically improves answer quality:

Example 1 — explaining an anomaly:

'Last October my revenue spiked because I was on a TV show. Can you calculate my underlying growth trend excluding that month?'

Example 2 — providing a goal:

'My target gross margin is 40%. Which products are dragging it below that and by how much?'

Example 3 — specifying assumptions:

'Assume my Black Friday sale will add 25% to November revenue. What does my Q4 cash flow look like with that assumption?'

Example 4 — explaining your business model:

'We operate on a subscription model. When I ask about customers, I mean active subscribers, not trial users. How many active subscribers do I have right now?'

AskBiz is designed for conversation — each answer is a starting point, not an end point. The best insights come from following the thread:

1. Ask a broad question: 'What's driving the change in my gross margin this quarter?'

2. AskBiz identifies the main driver: 'Your margin declined primarily because shipping costs increased on your top 3 products.'

3. Ask the follow-up: 'Which carrier accounts for the increase, and when did it start?'

4. Another follow-up: 'What would my margin look like if I switched those products to [alternative carrier]?'

This chain of questions — each building on the last — is how real business intelligence works. Do not stop at the first answer.

If AskBiz gives an answer that seems wrong, you do not have to accept it. Tell the AI directly:

• 'That doesn't look right — my revenue was definitely higher than that. What data are you using?'
• 'I think you're including marketplace fees in the revenue figure. Can you exclude them?'
• 'You're comparing to the wrong period — I want to compare to Q1 2024, not Q1 2023.'

AskBiz will re-examine its calculation and explain its data source. Sometimes the answer is right but the interpretation is different from what you expected — this is a valuable learning. Sometimes there is a genuine data issue (missing integration, COGS not entered) that the correction surfaces.

Use the thumbs down button on any response to flag it for review by the AskBiz team — this helps improve future accuracy.

AskBiz AI Chat is best for:

• One-off questions you do not need to revisit daily
• Complex questions combining multiple metrics
• Questions requiring explanation ('why is this happening?')
• Forecasting and scenario modelling
• Questions about trends and changes over time

Dashboards are better for:

• Metrics you check daily or weekly
• Comparing many values at once (e.g. all products side by side)
• Sharing views with team members who need a regular reference
• Monitoring KPIs against targets

The most effective AskBiz users combine both: dashboards for monitoring, chat for investigation.