Act-On Analytics: Answers

An Answer is a single data or business question answered with a chart, table, or other visualisation. You can create Answers by asking the AI a question, by building a query in Explore Data, or by starting from a standard Answer shipped with Act-On. Once you have an Answer, pin it to a Liveboard, save it on its own, or add it to your Watchlist as a KPI.

Open Analytics at Reports > Analytics. The Home tab is where you start.

Ask a data or business question

1. In the Question bar at the top, click the down arrow on the left to choose what to ask about. In the Select data source dialog, choose a worksheet and click Select.

2. Type your data or business question in the Question bar and click the send icon. Sample questions relevant to the selected data source are shown below the bar.

3. The AI data search chatbot creates an Answer based on your question. Keep chatting at the bottom to refine it, dive deeper, or explore other data points.

For example:

4. Optionally, at the lower left of the Answer, click Edit to tailor it.

Edit options example

Change the visualisation type and date range:

Filter by data source, for example, to exclude test messages sent from a specific email address:

Narrow results, for example, exclude values below a threshold or highlight those above one:

To rename the Answer, click the title and edit.

5. When you're done, save your Answer. Standard Analytics users can download Answers.

Build an Answer manually with Explore Data

If you have a clear idea of what Answer you want, build it yourself.

1. Go to Reports > Analytics and click the Explore Data tab at the top left.
2. Click Select a Data Source, choose a worksheet on the left, and click Select.
   • Three kinds of things are available on the left:
     • Measures - numeric values, for example, total emails opened or click-to-open rate.
     • Attributes - text values, for example, message title or creator name.
     • Dates - timestamps for activities or actions, for example, send date or opened date.
   • Search is available at the top, and you can show Popular Measures, Attributes, and Dates.
   • For definitions, see the Glossary of Measures, Attributes, & Dates.
3. Build your Answer by selecting the checkboxes on the left or typing in the search bar, then click Go.

4. Edit and rename the Answer. See the edit options example above for ideas.
5. When you're done, pin it to a Liveboard or save it as a standalone Answer. See Save your Answer below.

Use a standard or existing Answer

A simple way to get started is to copy a standard Answer from Act-On or an existing Answer that's been shared.

1. On the Analytics Home tab, in the Library list, find an Answer to use. For example, filter to show only Answers and choose author Act-On Software.

2. Open the Answer, click the ellipsis, and choose Make a copy.

3. Rename and edit the Answer. See the edit options example above.
4. When you're done, pin to a Liveboard or save as a standalone Answer (see below).

Save your Answer

Either pin it to a Liveboard:

1. Click Pin (lower left) and find the Liveboard you want (search is available), or create a new one.
   
   If the Liveboard has tabs, select one or create a new one.
2. Click Pin. The Answer is now on the Liveboard. See Act-On Analytics: Liveboards.

Or save it as a standalone Answer:

1. Click Save (lower left).
   
   Edit the Name and add a description if you want. Select the checkbox to share the Answer with other users in the same user group who have access to the same data source.
2. Click Save answer. The Answer is now in the Library on the Analytics Home tab.

KPI Answers

When creating or editing an Answer with measures, attributes, and dates that work as a KPI, select the KPI chart type.

Once pinned in a Liveboard or saved as an Answer, it can be added to your Watchlist. See Watchlist & Alerts.

KPI Alerts

Set up an email alert on any KPI-style data point, for example, to warn you if email delivery rates fall significantly so you can act quickly.

1. Find the KPI Answer you want, hover over it, and click Create alert.

2. Choose an alert type and click Next.
3. Type an Alert name.

4. For a threshold alert, set an Alert condition and Threshold value, for example, the value decreasing by 5%.

   Note: If you're setting an alert on a rate (a number from 0 to 1), include the leading zero before the decimal. For example, for a "Less than" condition, enter 0.9 rather than .9.
5. Set how often to check the value against the threshold, or when to send a scheduled alert.
6. Add subscribers (including non-Act-On users). They receive the alert in their inbox.
7. Add a custom message, for example, explaining the action needed.
8. Click Create alert.

Download an Answer

To download an Answer (for a report or an email attachment), find it in a Liveboard, in the Library, or in the Explore Data tab. At the top right of the Answer, click the ellipsis > Download and choose a format: PNG, XLSX, or CSV.

Standard Analytics users can download Answers made using the Question bar using the button at the lower left of the Answer. See Standard Analytics - Question Bar.