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App Context

The AI App Context tab, what the YAML holds, Save Draft, Test Chat, Publish, Revert to Published Version, and SBT 1.0 vs Beta version rules.

App Context is a YAML document that tells AI agents, such as Intelligence, what an app's data means: its tables, columns, metrics, relationships, and verified queries. The better the App Context, the more accurate the answers and SQL that Intelligence gives subscribers about that app.

Builders create and edit App Context in the AI App Context tab of App Version Details. App Context includes a Test Chat, a sandbox where you can try a draft against the AI before anyone else sees it.

You may also see App Context called AI App Context, the App Context YAML, the App Context sandbox, the context editor, semantic authoring, or the semantic model. Builders often ask about it as "where do I edit what Intelligence knows about my app?" or "how do I test AI context before it goes live?"

Applies to: Insight Cloud, Create area, App Version Details.

You'll need:

  • The Build App permission to create, edit, test, save, and publish App Context.

  • The View Creator Area permission to view App Context. Users with only this permission cannot edit, save, or publish it.

Users without either permission do not see the Create area.

Sample published and draft context within App Version Details

Where to find App Context

  1. In the left sidebar, click Create.

  2. In App Management, open the app.

  3. Make sure Version Details is selected at the top right.

  4. Choose the version in Select app version.

  5. Click AI App Context in the left panel.

The App Context page, titled App Context YAML, shows two cards:

  • Published: the App Context that Intelligence uses for this version, with the date it was published. Use Export to download it or Full Screen to read it in a larger view.

  • Draft: your working copy, with who last edited it and when. Use Export to download it or Edit to open the editor and Test Chat.

If the app has no App Context yet, users with the Build App permission can create one from this tab.

What App Context contains

App Context is written in YAML as a semantic model, following the Snowflake semantic view specification. It typically includes:

  • A name and description for the app's data output.

  • Tables, with their dimensions, time dimensions, facts, and metrics.

  • Synonyms: other words people use for a field, so Intelligence can match everyday language to the data. For example, a region dimension might list "area," "territory," and "market" as synonyms.

  • Relationships between tables.

  • Verified queries.

Verified queries in App Context

A verified query pairs a plain-language question with the SQL that answers it. Verified queries show Intelligence known-good ways to answer common questions about the app, which makes those answers more reliable.

A good place to find verified queries is the visuals in the app's Sigma workbook. If a visual was worth building, the question behind it is worth answering.

How to edit, test, and publish App Context

You need the Build App permission for these steps.

  1. Open the AI App Context tab for the version you want to change.

  2. If no draft exists, click Create Draft.

  3. On the Draft card, click Edit. The editor opens with the App Context YAML on the left and Test Chat on the right.

  4. Make your changes in the YAML. The label next to the title shows Not saved until you save.

  5. Click Save Draft. App Context checks the draft against the app's Snowflake schema. If there are errors, each one names the field and explains the problem. Fix the field and save again.

  6. In Test Chat, type a question in Ask me anything... and send it. The answer uses your saved draft, not the published App Context.

  7. Repeat: edit, save, and test until the answers are right.

  8. Click Publish at the top right. Save your draft first; Publish is not available while you have unsaved changes.

To throw away your draft and start again from the published App Context, click Revert to Published Version.

To download the YAML while editing, click the download icon next to the editor title.

How App Context drafts and versions work

Each App Context has one draft and one published copy.

  • Save Draft updates the draft only. Subscribers are not affected.

  • Publish replaces the published App Context with the draft. Intelligence uses the new App Context for subscribers from then on.

App Context for SBT 1.0 apps vs. SBT Beta apps

How App Context relates to app versions depends on how the app was built:

  • SBT 1.0 apps have a separate App Context for each app version. When a new version is created, it starts with a copy of the previous version's App Context. You can then change the new version's App Context without touching older versions.

  • SBT Beta apps (built with the --beta flag in SBT) have one App Context shared by every version. App Context cannot be different for different versions of a Beta app. A change you publish applies to all versions of that app.

Not sure which kind of app you have? See Seek Build Tools (SBT) Overview.

Example: updating App Context for a new version

A builder publishes version 3 of an SBT 1.0 app. Version 3 adds two new tables.

  1. Version 3 starts with a copy of version 2's App Context.

  2. The builder upgrades and runs the app's variant for version 3.

  3. The builder opens version 3 in the AI App Context tab, clicks Edit on the draft record, adds the new tables, and clicks Save Draft.

  4. In Test Chat, the builder asks "What were total units by region last month?" The AI answers using the draft.

  5. The builder compares the SQL to the matching verified query, adjusts a metric description, saves again, tests again, and clicks Publish.

  6. Version 2's App Context does not change. Subscribers still on version 2 are not affected.

How the App Context Test Chat works

  • Test Chat uses your saved draft for this app only.

  • You can have a back-and-forth conversation within one session.

  • Saving a new draft clears Test Chat and starts a new session using the new draft.

  • For the same question and the same App Context, Test Chat gives the same facts, numbers, and conclusions as Intelligence. The wording can differ, because AI answers are not word-for-word repeatable.

What App Context can't do

  • App Context does not keep a history. There is one draft and one published copy. You cannot go back to an earlier draft or an earlier published App Context. Revert to Published Version is the only undo, and it only replaces the draft.

  • App Context Test Chat does not save conversations. Saving a new draft or refreshing the page clears the chat.

  • App Context Test Chat tests one app at a time. It does not answer questions across multiple apps.

  • App Context Test Chat needs the app's variant to have run. If it has not, Test Chat shows a "variant not found" error.

  • App Context for SBT Beta apps cannot be different per version. Every version of a Beta app shares one App Context.

App Context vs. Seek Context and app publishing

  • Seek Context in Seek Build Tools is a developer object used while an app runs. It is not App Context. App Context is the YAML that AI agents read to understand an app's data.

  • Publishing App Context is not the same as publishing an app with SBT or publishing an app listing. The Publish button in the App Context editor only publishes App Context.

Who should maintain App Context

The person who built or changed the app is best placed to maintain its App Context, because they understand the data model behind it.

Update App Context whenever the app's data output changes. When you add tables or columns, add them to App Context so Intelligence keeps giving accurate answers.

If App Context isn't working

  • Test Chat shows "variant not found": run that version of the app's variant, then try your question again.

  • You can see App Context but not Edit or Publish: you need the Build App permission.

  • Validation errors still don't make sense after you fix the named field: report it through Get Support in the Insight Cloud profile menu, with the app name, the version, and the exact error text.

Last reviewed: 2026-10-05

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