AI Power BI custom visual generator

What it does

The 4-file output

Every Power BI custom visual built with Microsoft’s powerbi-visuals-tools is four files plus a template. VizForge generates exactly those four; the tsconfig, webpack config and pbiviz.json manifest (with a fresh GUID and author fields) come from a fixed template, so the package is rebuildable on your machine.

• capabilities.json

  Data roles (the field wells), data view mappings and the formatting objects that become cards in the format pane. This is where your 'Category', 'Value' and 'Target' wells are declared.

• visual.ts

  The visual class implementing IVisual: constructor, update(options) with the null check first, D3 v7 rendering with enter/update/exit, selection IDs for cross-filtering, context menu, tooltips via host.tooltipService, renderingStarted/Finished events.

• settings.ts

  The formatting model built on powerbi-visuals-utils-formattingmodel: typed cards and slices (toggles, colour pickers, numeric inputs, dropdowns) matching the objects in capabilities.json.

• style.less

  The stylesheet compiled into the bundle by pbiviz: fonts, hover states, selection dimming, scrollbars.

The validation loop: tsc, repair, pbiviz

Language models write plausible Power BI code that does not compile: string methods called on dropdown values, settings slices read without .value, a missing generic on populateFormattingSettingsModel, the wrong ISelectionId namespace. The pipeline exists to catch and fix those before you ever see a file.

1. 1

   Classify

   A fast model reads your description and picks the visual family (one of 63+) and the data shape it implies.

2. 2

   Retrieve

   Relevant SDK patterns, reference implementations and previously successful refinements are pulled from a vector index and placed in the model's context.

3. 3

   Specify, then generate

   A spec (data roles, interactions, formatting cards) is written first; the four files are generated from the spec, not straight from the prompt.

4. 4

   Type-check with tsc

   The real TypeScript compiler runs with --noEmit against a pre-installed copy of powerbi-visuals-api, the formatting-model utils and D3 types. It reports the same TS2339 / TS2345 / TS2739 / TS2344 / TS2552 diagnostics pbiviz would.

5. 5

   Repair

   Deterministic fixes run first (d3.event, innerHTML/outerHTML, missing renderingStarted/Finished, the empty-data-view guard, createTooltipServiceWrapper, the formatting-utils package-name typo). Remaining errors, such as unwrapped settings slices, the missing generic on populateFormattingSettingsModel or the wrong ISelectionId import, go back to the model with the compiler output and known repair patterns, for up to three rounds, escalating to a stronger model after the first.

6. 6

   Package and grade

   pbiviz package produces the .pbiviz with a unique GUID. An AI reviewer scores the code against your brief on six criteria (visual type, field roles, encoding, labels, legend, colour logic). A visual that fails to build or scores below the threshold is refunded under the quality SLA.

// Generated (fails: TS2339 Property 'toLowerCase' does not exist on type 'IEnumMember | ILocalizedItemMember')
const mode = settings.layout.mode.value.toLowerCase();

// Repaired
const mode = String(settings.layout.mode.value.value).toLowerCase();

// Generated (fails: TS2739 Type 'Model' is missing the following properties from type 'VisualFormattingSettingsModel')
this.formattingSettings = this.formattingSettingsService
  .populateFormattingSettingsModel(VisualFormattingSettingsModel, dataView);

// Repaired
this.formattingSettings = this.formattingSettingsService
  .populateFormattingSettingsModel<VisualFormattingSettingsModel>(VisualFormattingSettingsModel, dataView);

After download, the free pbiviz Inspector reads the package in your browser and shows its API version, data roles and declared privileges, which is what an admin will ask for.

Demo prompts

Good prompts read like a developer brief: data roles with types, interactions, and the formatting cards authors should get. These four are real briefs that generate; paste one and change the field names. The prompt coach on the generate page asks the same questions if you would rather answer than write. A floor plan bound to data is a separate flow: upload the image to Synoptic Studio (15 credits) instead.

• Bullet chart with bands

  Bullet chart. Data roles: Category, Actual (measure), Target (measure), Band 1-3 thresholds (measures). Horizontal bars, target as a vertical tick, three grey qualitative bands behind each bar. Cross-filter on click, tooltip with variance to target in % and absolute. Formatting pane: bar colour, target colour, band greys, font size, number display units.

• Gantt with dependencies

  Gantt chart. Data roles: Task, Start, End, Percent Complete, Phase (two levels), Predecessor (comma-separated task IDs), Baseline Start, Baseline End. Dependency arrows finish-to-start, critical path in the theme's first data colour, baseline as a thin bar under the actual, today line, collapsible groups, tooltip with slip in days.

• Calendar heatmap

  Calendar heatmap, GitHub style. Data roles: Date, Value (measure). One cell per day, weeks as columns, month labels on top, weekday labels on the left, sequential colour scale from the theme with 5 steps, legend, tooltip with formatted date and value, click to cross-filter the day.

• SPC control chart

  Statistical process control (XmR) chart. Data roles: Date, Value (measure). Plot the individual values as a line with markers, centre line at the mean, upper and lower control limits at ±2.66 × the average moving range, highlight points outside the limits and runs of 8 on one side of the centre line in the theme's warning colour, tooltip with value and moving range, click to cross-filter the date.

Pricing

Credits are bought once and never expire. A generation costs 1 to 5 credits depending on complexity (a synoptic map from Synoptic Studio is 15); refinements of an existing visual are generations too. Signup includes 5 free credits with no card. There is no subscription and no per-viewer fee: a visual used by 2,000 readers costs the same as one used by two. Full details on the pricing page; the figures below come from the same catalog it renders.

• Starter Pack

  $9.99

  10 credits · $1.00 each · one-time

• Pro Pack

  $24.99

  30 credits · $0.83 each · one-time

• Team Pack

  $69.99

  100 credits · $0.70 each · one-time

For how that compares with hiring a freelancer, an agency or licensing a Marketplace visual per user, see how much a Power BI custom visual costs in 2026.

Limits, stated plainly

• Uncertified.The output is a custom visual built with the Power BI SDK, exactly like one a developer builds for you. In the Service it renders only where the tenant setting “Allow visuals created using the Power BI SDK” is enabled, and “Add and use certified visuals only” blocks it (Desktop follows the matching Group Policy keys). An admin can still approve it for everyone by adding the .pbiviz to the organizational visuals list, which Microsoft documents as working “even if they contradict the tenant settings”; see Organizational visuals (Microsoft Learn). If certification is a hard requirement, use a certified Marketplace visual or Deneb; see the Deneb alternatives guide.
• Tenant and surface policy. Power BI Desktop is governed by Group Policy, the Service by tenant settings, Report Server by its supported API version. The custom visual not showing guide covers every switch.
• No external services. Generated visuals do not call map tile servers, web APIs or your data source. Maps are drawn from geometry in your data or an uploaded image.
• First drafts are drafts.Complex briefs usually take a generation plus one to three refinements. The quality SLA refunds visuals that fail to build or score below the grader’s threshold; it does not promise the first draft is final.
• Native first. If a core visual can do it with conditional formatting, use the core visual. Power BI added a native Gantt (preview) in October 2026; our native vs custom Gantt comparison says when a custom one is still worth it.

FAQ

Read next

• DIY route

  Build a visual with Claude or ChatGPT

  The toolchain and the compiler errors every model makes.

• Cost

  How much does a custom visual cost in 2026?

  Freelancer, agency, Marketplace licence and AI compared.

• Features

  Everything the generator does

  Prompt coach, refinement loop, image-to-visual, validator.

• Catalog

  Visual types

  Data shape, DAX and a live preview per chart type.

• Quality SLA

  What is refunded and why

  The six-criterion grader and the refund rule.

• Synoptic

  Floor plans and diagrams

  Image-to-region-map visuals you own.