Skip to main content

Enable and try Databricks Assistant

Databricks Assistant is a context-aware AI assistant that helps you with Databricks notebooks, SQL editor, jobs, AI/BI dashboards, file editor, and more. Databricks Assistant assists you with data and code when you ask for help using a conversational interface.

note

Databricks Assistant defaults to using Databricks-hosted AI models if you disable partner-powered features. To learn more about this, see Features governed by the Partner-powered AI assistive features setting.

To learn how Assistant helps with code, see Get coding help from Databricks Assistant.

For an account: Disable or enable partner-powered AI features

tip

If you can't enable Databricks Assistant or other partner-powered AI features using the following instructions, you might need to disable Enforce data processing within workspace Geography for AI features. See Enable cross-Geo processing.

partner-powered AI features including Databricks Assistant are enabled by default. However, account admins can disable partner-powered AI features for all workspaces within an account. Account admins can also enforce enabling partner-powered AI features for the entire account.

tip

The act of enabling or disabling partner-powered Databricks Assistant features for your account is captured as an account event in your audit logs, see Account events.

  1. As an account admin, log in to the account console.

  2. Click Settings.

  3. Click the Feature enablement tab.

  4. For the Enable partner-powered AI features option, select Off or On.

  5. Prevent workspace overrides with the Enforce setting:

    Enforce setting that overrides a workspace setting.

If you select Off for the Enable partner-powered AI assistive features option, Databricks-hosted models continue to power AI features.

To learn about the services used for partner-powered AI features including Assistant, see Features governed by the Partner-powered AI assistive features setting.

For a workspace: Disable or enable partner-powered AI features

If your account admin enables partner-powered AI features including Databricks Assistant, it is enabled by default in workspaces. Unless the account admin chose to enforce the setting, workspace admins can disable it for their workspaces.

To disable partner-powered AI features in a workspace:

  1. Click your username in the top bar of the Databricks workspace > Settings.
  2. In the left pane under Workspace admin, click the Advanced tab.
  3. To disable partner-powered AI features, click the toggle Off for Partner-powered AI assistive features.

If you select Off for the Enable partner-powered AI assistive features option, Databricks-hosted models continue to power AI features.

Tour of the Assistant pane

This section describes the default experience of the Assistant pane.

To open the Assistant pane, click In-product help assistant icon - grey on the upper-right corner of the page.

Chat pane

The Assistant pane with an explain prompt.

Type questions or slash commands in the text box at the bottom of the Assistant pane and press Enter or click Send icon. at the right of the text box. Assistant displays its answer.

If you prompt Assistant to help with code, it leads you through running, accepting, or rejecting the code changes it proposes.

Chat pane controls and settings

The Chat pane header has controls and settings for the Chat UI.

Icons and thread title at the top of the Assistant pane.

  • Chat pane settings menu: Open the Chat pane settings menu to delete chat threads, change the position of the pane, and change settings.

    Assistant Chat pane menu with options.

  • Delete chat threads in History.

    Assistant thread history with delete.

  • Change Assistant settings. When you select Settings, the Chat pane runs the /settings assistant prompt.

    Assistant Chat pane with the Settings prompt.

  • Rerun your prompt or query: Hover your cursor over the answer and click Sync icon..

  • Close the pane: Click Close icon. in the upper-right corner of the cell.

Control the location of Databricks Assistant

The docking feature allows you to control where Databricks Assistant appears. Keep the pane on the right side of the page or dock it anywhere along the bottom. To minimize or expand Databricks Assistant, click the top of the Assistant pane.

Databricks Assistant with docking control.

Get follow-up suggestions and citations from documentation

Databricks Assistant gives you follow-up suggestions and citations from documentation to answer questions. Type your question or prompt in the prompt box.

  • Follow-up suggestions include variations on the query.
  • Citations are numbered footnote links following an Assistant answer.

Documentation citations and follow-up suggestions from Databricks Assistant.

Get help with code

Get help with code from Databricks Assistant directly in your notebooks. The Assistant offers:

See Get coding help from Databricks Assistant.

Additional information