Can an AI assistant build a Fishbowl report and install it?
Two weeks ago I wrote that I probably won’t write a report ever again, and that the next step was for the AI to build the report itself. That part works now. With ILC MCP, an AI assistant connected to your Fishbowl can draft a report, check it, and install it once a person says where it goes.
On October 18, an AI assistant in a Claude.ai chat built an Inventory Reorder List on our demo server. It wrote the query, tested it against the data, compiled the report, asked which folder and menus to use, and installed it. Then we opened it in Fishbowl.
What it builds
| Kind | What you get | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| MCP Query | A read-only query the AI saves in ILC MCP | In the AI assistant, for the people you grant it to |
| Data Module Query | A query saved in Fishbowl’s Data module | In Fishbowl’s Data module, and in the AI assistant once an admin turns them on |
| CloudPage | A report, a custom page, or a printed document or label | Inside Fishbowl, in its list of available pages |
| BI Report | A report built the same way as a CloudPage | Fishbowl’s BI Report module |
| Jasper report | A classic Fishbowl printed report | Fishbowl’s reports and the print menus you choose |
An MCP Query lives in ILC MCP and only runs through your AI assistant. An admin has the AI save it, grants it to the people who should run it, and every change is a version you can roll back. A Data Module Query is saved in Fishbowl’s Data module, where your team already runs queries. The AI can save new ones there, and people can find and run the existing ones from the chat.
How it works
The steps are the same for every kind:
- You describe what you need. For example, “a reorder list of everything below its reorder point, grouped by vendor.”
- The AI drafts it and tests the query against your Fishbowl data.
- It checks the result. A CloudPage or BI Report gets a live preview, and the AI reads the problems the preview reports and fixes them. A Jasper report has to compile cleanly with the same JasperReports version Fishbowl runs before the AI can call it ready.
- It asks before it installs. The AI asks where the report should go, such as the folder and print menus for a Jasper report, and waits for the answer.
- Every version is kept. If a change goes wrong, you roll back to the last one that worked.
Drafting and installing are separate permissions, so a person can be allowed to build drafts without being able to put anything into Fishbowl. A new Jasper report is visible only to Fishbowl admins until an admin grants it to groups, and a new MCP Query runs for nobody until it’s granted. Fishbowl’s own reports are never changed. When you want one modified, the AI copies it as a “(Custom)” report and works on the copy.
Limits today
- Jasper reports are a single file. Logos and QR codes are coming. Subreports aren’t supported for now, to keep reports simple.
- To see a Jasper report with your data, you install it and run it in Fishbowl.
- BI Reports can’t print or save files. Printed documents and labels are CloudPages or Jasper reports.
- A tool bigger than a single page, like a multi-screen receiving station, is still work for our developers, and we quote it like any other CloudPages project.
Who it’s for
MCP Queries and Data Module Queries are included with ILC MCP. Building and installing CloudPages, BI Reports and Jasper reports is the Custom reports add-on, for teams that want their AI assistant to build reports as well as answer questions.
Each kind gets its own post over the next few weeks, with a recorded session from our demo server. If there’s a report your team has been waiting on, tell us what it should show.
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