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AI Generates Charts; You Tell the Story

5 min read
Data Sci

Data Sci

AI drafts. You decide what the audience needs to hear and what they'll do next.

AI Generates Charts; You Tell the Story

TL;DR

  • AI can create charts and draft narratives from data. Fast. Sometimes wrong.
  • The story — what it means, why it matters, what to do next — is yours.
  • Your job shifts from "make the chart" to "make the chart right and make it land."

A chart without context is a pretty picture. A chart with the wrong context is dangerous. AI will give you both. Your value: knowing which is which and turning analysis into action.

What AI Handles

Chart generation:

  • "Create a bar chart of X vs. Y." — Done. You check: right data? Right aggregation? Right time range?
  • "Make it look professional." — AI applies styling. You may need to adjust for brand or accessibility.

Draft narratives:

  • "Summarize these findings." — AI writes prose. You trim, correct, add caveats.
  • Useful for first drafts. Never ship without review.

Suggested insights:

  • "This metric went up. That one went down." — AI states the obvious. Sometimes it catches something non-obvious. Verify.

What You Own

The "so what":

  • Numbers went up. Why does that matter? What should the reader do?
  • AI describes. You prescribe. That's the value.

The audience:

  • Executive summary vs. deep dive vs. technical report — Different audiences need different stories. AI doesn't know who's reading.
  • You adapt tone, depth, and framing.

The caveats:

  • "This excludes X." "This is correlation, not causation." "We're not sure yet."
  • AI tends to sound confident. You add the nuance.

The call to action:

  • "Recommend next steps." — AI can suggest. You own which ones are realistic and prioritized.

The Workflow

  1. AI generates — Chart + draft narrative.
  2. You validate — Right data? Right interpretation?
  3. You refine — Add "so what," audience-specific framing, caveats, next steps.
  4. You own the final output — If it's wrong, it's on you. AI is a drafting partner.

Build chart. Add headline. Hope the audience gets it. 'Here's the data.'

Click "Reporting With AI" to see the difference →

Quick Check

AI generated a chart and narrative. The numbers are right. What's still missing?

Do This Next

  1. Generate one report with AI — Use your normal data. Have AI draft chart + narrative. Edit it. What did you change? That's your value-add.
  2. Document your review checklist — For any AI-generated insight: What do you always verify? Share it.
  3. Practice the "so what" — Pick one chart. Write three versions: for an exec, for a analyst, for a customer. AI can draft; you tailor.