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The AI Analyst queries your data in BigQuery through Slack. Before you can use it, your data infrastructure must be in place.

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How It Works

The AI Analyst and your Looker Studio dashboards query the same underlying data — they’re just different interfaces.

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Prerequisites

Before installing the AI Analyst, ensure your SourceMedium data pipeline is set up:
1

Connect Your Data Sources

The AI Analyst queries data from your connected platforms. At minimum, you need:
  • E-commerce platform (Shopify, Amazon Seller Central)
  • Marketing platforms (Google Ads, Meta Ads, etc.)
  • Web analytics (GA4)

All Integrations

See the full list of supported integrations.
2

Verify Data Is Flowing

After connecting integrations, SourceMedium ingests and transforms your data into BigQuery. This typically takes 24–72 hours for initial setup.Your SourceMedium team will notify you when your data is ready. You can also check:
  • Your Looker Studio dashboard is populated
  • Or ask your SourceMedium team for confirmation
3

Confirm BigQuery Access

The AI Analyst queries the sm_transformed_v2 dataset in your BigQuery project. Your SourceMedium team handles this provisioning — no action needed from you unless you’re self-hosting.

BigQuery Essentials

Learn about your BigQuery data warehouse.
If you’re already using SourceMedium dashboards, your data infrastructure is ready — proceed to Slack installation.

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Slack Installation

The AI Analyst is delivered as a Slack app called SourceMedium.
In Slack, the bot appears as “SourceMedium” (or “SourceMedium (YourCompany)”). Throughout these docs, we refer to it as the “AI Analyst” to distinguish it from other SourceMedium products.

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Your Tenant URL

Each SourceMedium customer has a dedicated instance: 
https://{your-tenant}.sourcemedium.com
For example, if your tenant ID is acme, your URL would be https://acme.sourcemedium.com.
Not sure what your tenant ID is? It’s typically your company name or a shortened version. Ask your SourceMedium team if you’re unsure.

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Installing the App

1

Visit your install URL

Go to https://{your-tenant}.sourcemedium.com/slack/install
2

Click 'Add to Slack'

You’ll be redirected to Slack’s authorization page.
3

Review permissions

See what the app can access (details below).
4

Authorize

Click “Allow” to complete installation.
5

Start asking questions

Mention the bot in a channel or send it a direct message.
You must be a Slack workspace admin (or have app installation permissions) to install the AI Analyst.

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Permissions Requested

When you install the app, Slack shows the permissions being requested:
CategoryWhat It Enables
Read messagesSee your questions in channels and DMs where the bot is present
Send messagesReply with results, charts, and SQL queries
Upload filesAttach CSV exports, SQL files, and chart images
Read user infoIdentify who asked the question for context
Join channelsAccept channel invitations when you add the bot
The bot only sees messages in channels where it’s explicitly added or in direct messages sent to it. It cannot read messages in other channels.

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After Installation

Once installed:
  1. Invite the bot to a channel: Use /invite @SourceMedium or add it from channel settings
  2. Or use direct messages: Send a DM to the SourceMedium bot for private queries
  3. Ask a question: Type your question in natural language
The bot responds in a thread with your results.
Many teams create a dedicated #analytics or #data-questions channel for queries. This keeps analytics discussions organized and lets the whole team learn from each other’s questions.

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Access Control

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Who Can Use It

Anyone in your Slack workspace who can message the bot can query your data. There’s no separate login — Slack authentication is used.

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What Data Is Accessible

The AI Analyst can query all SourceMedium out-of-the-box tables for your tenant:
  • Orders and revenue data
  • Customer information
  • Marketing and ad performance
  • Email and SMS metrics
  • Web analytics events
  • Attribution data
Granular access control (limiting specific users to specific data) is not yet available. Anyone with access to the bot can query any data in your SourceMedium tables.

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Multi-Store Organizations

If your organization has multiple stores connected to SourceMedium, the AI Analyst can query data across all of them. Currently, queries return combined results across all stores in your tenant.
Per-store filtering is on our roadmap. For now, include the store name in your question and the AI will attempt to filter appropriately if the data supports it.

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Troubleshooting

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Data Issues

“I’m not seeing recent data”
  • Check Data Health to verify table freshness
  • Data typically refreshes daily; check with your SourceMedium team for your refresh schedule
“The AI doesn’t know about my tables”
  • The AI Analyst only queries SourceMedium out-of-the-box tables
  • Custom tables or views you’ve created in BigQuery are not accessible

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Installation Issues

“You don’t have permission to install apps” Ask your Slack workspace admin to either:
  • Install the app for you
  • Grant you app installation permissions
“This workspace is not authorized” Your Slack workspace may not be linked to your SourceMedium tenant. Contact your SourceMedium team to verify the configuration. Bot not responding after installation
  1. Make sure the bot is invited to the channel you’re messaging in
  2. Try sending a direct message to the bot instead
  3. Check that you’re mentioning the bot correctly (@SourceMedium)

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Getting Help

If you run into issues during setup: Include your tenant ID and a description of the issue.

Getting Started Checklist

Full onboarding guide for new SourceMedium customers.

All Integrations

Complete list of supported data sources.