# Can your AI assistant run your Fishbowl Data module queries?

> Many Fishbowl teams already have useful queries in Fishbowl's Data module. With ILC MCP, people can find and run them from their AI assistant, and the AI can save new ones into the Data module.

A lot of Fishbowl teams already have queries saved in Fishbowl's Data module. Someone wrote them years ago, maybe us, and a few people know how to run them. With ILC MCP, anyone you allow can find and run those queries from their AI assistant by asking a question, and the AI can save new ones into the Data module.

<figure>
<svg class="dmq" viewBox="0 0 720 432" role="img" aria-label="On the left is Fishbowl's Data module with three saved queries. On the right, a person asks which customers have backorders, and the AI runs the Backorders by Customer query from the Data module. Then the person asks the AI to save a query for late purchase orders by vendor, and Late POs by Vendor appears in the Data module as a new query." style="display:block;width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:16px;font-family:'Hanken Grotesk',system-ui,sans-serif"><style>
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<text x="42" y="49" font-size="14" font-weight="800" fill="#1C2045">Fishbowl · Data module</text>
<rect class="hl" x="34" y="78" width="280" height="40" rx="8" fill="#FFF3D6"/>
<g font-size="14.5" font-weight="700" fill="#1C2045"><text x="48" y="104">Backorders by Customer</text><text x="48" y="152">Inventory Below Reorder</text><text x="48" y="200">Shipments This Week</text></g>
<g stroke="#E6E7EF"><line x1="34" y1="126" x2="314" y2="126"/><line x1="34" y1="174" x2="314" y2="174"/><line x1="34" y1="222" x2="314" y2="222"/></g>
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<g class="q1"><rect x="348" y="24" width="348" height="44" rx="14" fill="#fff"/><text x="366" y="52" font-size="14.5" font-weight="700" fill="#1C2045">Which customers have backorders?</text></g>
<g class="r1"><rect x="348" y="80" width="348" height="138" rx="14" fill="#2E3466"/><text x="366" y="104" font-size="11" font-weight="800" fill="#FAB435" letter-spacing=".06em">AI ASSISTANT</text><text x="366" y="128" font-size="14" font-weight="700" fill="#fff">Ran Backorders by Customer from</text><text x="366" y="148" font-size="14" font-weight="700" fill="#fff">your Data module. 4 customers:</text>
<g font-size="13" font-weight="600" fill="#DDE0F0"><text x="366" y="176">Acme Supply · 12</text><text x="530" y="176">Cedar Labs · 5</text><text x="366" y="200">Bayside Marine · 7</text><text x="530" y="200">Delta Tools · 2</text></g></g>
<g class="q2"><rect x="348" y="234" width="348" height="64" rx="14" fill="#fff"/><text x="366" y="261" font-size="14.5" font-weight="700" fill="#1C2045">Save a query for late POs by vendor</text><text x="366" y="282" font-size="14.5" font-weight="700" fill="#1C2045">in the Data module.</text></g>
<g class="r2"><rect x="348" y="314" width="348" height="94" rx="14" fill="#2E3466"/><text x="366" y="338" font-size="11" font-weight="800" fill="#FAB435" letter-spacing=".06em">AI ASSISTANT</text><text x="366" y="362" font-size="14" font-weight="700" fill="#fff">Saved to your Data module as</text><text x="366" y="384" font-size="14" font-weight="700" fill="#fff">Late POs by Vendor.</text></g>
</svg>
<figcaption>The AI runs a query that's already in the Data module, then saves a new one there.</figcaption>
</figure>

## Turning them on

An admin turns on Data module queries in ILC MCP once. Then each query is granted to everyone, a group or one person, the same way as an [MCP Query](/blog/ai-mcp-queries-fishbowl). You can disable a query to hide it from everyone but admins, and add a note that comes back with every run, like "Internal use only."

## Running one

A person asks a question in their own words. Their AI assistant looks at the queries they're allowed to run, finds the one that answers it and runs it. If the query asks for something, like a date range or a customer, the AI fills it in.

ILC MCP finds the choices each query asks for. An admin can set what type each one is, a default value, whether it's required and which values are allowed, so the AI fills them in the way the query expects.

People allowed to export can get the results as an Excel file.

## Saving new ones

Ask the AI a question, and once the answer is right, ask it to save the query to the Data module. It shows up in Fishbowl next to your other queries, so people can run it in Fishbowl as well as from their AI assistant.

A query's SQL and description are still edited in Fishbowl's Data module, the way they are today.

## MCP Query or Data Module Query?

| | MCP Query | Data Module Query |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | ILC MCP | Fishbowl's Data module |
| Run it from | Your AI assistant | Your AI assistant or Fishbowl |
| Version history and rollback | In ILC MCP | Edited in Fishbowl |

Use a Data Module Query when people also run it inside Fishbowl. Use an MCP Query when you want each person to see only their own rows, or every change kept as a version.

MCP Queries and Data Module Queries are both included with ILC MCP.

## Where to start

Turn on the queries your team already runs every week. If you're not sure which of your Data module queries still work, [we can help you sort them out](/contact).

**Related:**
- [What is an MCP Query?](/blog/ai-mcp-queries-fishbowl)
- [Can an AI assistant build a Fishbowl report and install it?](/blog/ai-builds-fishbowl-reports)
- [ILC MCP for Fishbowl](/fishbowl-mcp)

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*From Israel Lopez Consulting (ILC). Custom Fishbowl Inventory integrations and software, and Fishbowl experts since 2015. Written by Israel Lopez, published October 19, 2026. Questions about this topic, or want to reach the people who wrote it? Visit https://israellopezconsulting.com/contact*