Welcome back to a brand new episode of Fabric Threads, where we’re diving into the latest updates to Microsoft Fabric and how they can help you overcome some of the most pressing everyday business challenges.

I follow a lot of the Fabric development team on LinkedIn, so I’ve been seeing some of the buzz about new features throughout the last month. I couldn’t wait to share some of the great features they’ve been posting about this month.

October’s Microsoft Fabric updates deliver powerful new tools to streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and turn data into actionable insights faster than ever.

Smarter Power BI Report Creation With Copilot

Copilot has been a feature inside of Power BI for quite some time now, but this past month, it got a major upgrade. Thanks to this update, using Copilot is a much more conversational experience.

With Copilot, you’ve always been able to tell the tool that you want to see your sales by country, for example. But now, Copilot helps you dig a lot deeper into the data.

You can have a back-and-forth with Copilot where the tool asks you questions to draw out more details, which will then be used to recommend key metrics, specific measures, and relevant columns to build out your report. It will also create an outline of the report explaining each visual and what fields are being used in the new report, which can help users unfamiliar with the model understand the structure.

For analysts, super users, or business teams just getting started with Power BI, this is a huge win. It reduces the effort of building actionable reports and aligns the output with organizational goals.

The AI behind this update is powerful, but as with any newer technology, it still has limits. If you’re layering complex questions on top of an already complex data model, Copilot may struggle to do its best work.

And as with any AI tool, you can’t expect it to fully automate your report creation process. User input and expertise are still critical. You especially can’t expect it to do advanced data transformations. You probably hear this all the time, but it’s great advice: “Put good in, get good out.”

Real-Time Dashboard Integration With GitHub

Any time there’s a GitHub feature update, you’ll be sure to see it covered on Fabric Threads. That’s because GitHub is so integral to our development process. That being said, I’m really excited about the real-time dashboard integration with GitHub.

Real-time dashboards are a game-changer for industries needing live updates, such as manufacturing, finance, and operations. This update integrates real-time dashboards directly with GitHub, streamlining the entire process of version control and CI/CD management within Fabric. Teams already using GitHub for Fabric’s other components can now integrate these dashboards seamlessly.

So what does this mean in practice? For development, operations, and project management teams, this means greater efficiency—particularly when handling multiple real-time dashboards because manual data tracking is eliminated. Versions of your real-time dashboard are accessible in case any unexpected changes occur.

And the setup is surprisingly straightforward. Normally, GitHub integration is pretty complex, but I was pleasantly surprised when I first took this feature for a spin.

Preview of the New List Slicer

A slicer is just a filter that helps you refine your data views. The standard slicer is a visual within Power BI that has existed pretty much since the platform was released. However, this update introduced a new and improved slicer visualization.

This updated slicer expands beyond the standard options by supporting images, additional columns, and even conditional formatting for a more dynamic experience. As a result, users now have a simpler way to view targeted data segments without needing complex filters.

This makes data exploration much easier—and, dare I say—more fun. Who doesn’t get excited about a more interactive report that helps you analyze data faster?

The main users that stand to benefit from this are analysts and business users who need quick access to filtered data in Power BI reports. Organizations with complex datasets will probably see the most value from this. Not only does it speed up the analysis process, but it also provides more flexibility. Instead of just using columns, you can also use numbers or images.

This will definitely be a fun feature to play around with. However, Microsoft recommends using this feature cautiously in production, as it’s still in early preview and may not support all data types.

Notebook Git Integration and Deployment Pipeline

I’m keeping my word from earlier and continuing to bring up a new Git integration feature whenever I come across one. As of this month, now that we can enable notebooks with Git integration, collaborative data work is being taken to the next level.

Now, data developers and scientists can manage version control and deployment processes for notebooks directly through Git—just as you are likely already doing with other Fabric components. This provides a streamlined environment for tracking changes and deploying updates, no matter how many different team members are involved.

This feature will particularly resonate with data scientists and developers working on iterative projects who rely on Git for collaborative workflows. The deployment pipeline streamlines project management, enabling faster deployments and smoother workflows.

Some users might think this update replaces the full CI/CD pipeline, but it’s best viewed as a complementary feature enhancing DevOps tools, not a full replacement.

Filter, Sort, and Search Your Lakehouse Objects

Navigating a lakehouse with hundreds of tables and thousands of files can be challenging, especially in complex data environments. The new filter, sort, and search features in Fabric’s Lakehouse make it significantly easier to find and manage data assets.

With a single search bar, users locate specific files or tables with ease, speeding up the data retrieval process and minimizing workflow interruptions. This is a major time-saver for data teams handling large datasets, allowing for quicker exploration and improved data management.

It’s important to remember that this feature doesn’t replace good organizational practices. Users still need to follow naming conventions and schema structures for optimal results.

Efficiency and Accessibility Are Paramount

October’s Fabric updates were focused on efficiency, with key features like Copilot for Power BI, real-time GitHub integration, and improved Lakehouse search. The Fabric team is clearly prioritizing user experience, making the platform more accessible for users of all skill sets.

Check back next month as we cover new updates aimed at supporting data-driven teams on Fabric Threads. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay in the loop.