Power BI Updates & Release Notes

Power BI Desktop Bridge (Preview)

Power BI Desktop Bridge introduces a new way of working, allowing external applications and agents to interact directly with Power BI Desktop!

What is Power BI Desktop Bridge?

The bridge is a lightweight local server that lets external applications interact directly with Power BI Desktop.

Think of it as a direct, secure channel between your tools and Power BI Desktop. Your agents, scripts, and external applications can now:

• Check the current state of your report.
• Trigger key actions, like reloading files after edits.
• Capture screenshots to validate changes.
• Iterate and improve in real time, without manual handoffs.

The following core capabilities are available through the bridge:

Discover What's Available

Method: bridge.manifest

Capabilities: Returns a complete list of all capabilities and their specifications.Think of this as a "menu" of what your version of Desktop can do. Always check this first to see what's available.

Check Report State

Method: application.state.get/v1

Capabilities: Returns information about the currently open file and whether there are unsaved changes.

In plain language: Know which file is open and if there are pending edits. Essential before running automation that might affect your work.

Capture Report Snapshots

Method: report.snapshot.capture/v1

Capabilities: Captures a PNG screenshot of a specific report page at any resolution you want.

In plain language: See exactly how your report looks right now. Perfect for validating changes visually or sharing proof of work.

Reload files from Disk

Method: file.reload/v1

Capabilities: Reloads the open PBIP/PBIR file from disk to pick up on-disk edits.

In plain language: After making changes to report files, refresh Desktop to see them. You can control whether the semantic model is also reloaded.

Why this is a big step for agents?

Before the bridge, agents could be incredibly smart about generating code and automating repetitive tasks. But they hit a wall: they couldn't talk directly to Power BI Desktop. They couldn't reload files to see changes in real time. They couldn't capture screenshots to validate what they'd built. They were flying blind.

Now, with the bridge, that changes completely, agents can:

• Read the current report state.
• Edit report files directly on disk.
• Reload to see changes instantly in Desktop.
• Validate with a live screenshot.
• Iterate immediately—observing, learning, and improving.

Ready to see this in action? The Report Authoring Skill is a perfect example. It leverages the bridge to read state, make edits, reload instantly, validate visually with screenshots, and iterate continuously in one seamless loop. Now, reports that would take hours to build, debug, and refine manually can now be authored, validated, and polished by agents in minutes.

But this is just the beginning. The bridge opens the door for you to build the custom solutions you need.

How to get started

Desktop Bridge is enabled by default. To disable or enable it:

Open Power BI Desktop.

Go to File > Options and settings > Options.

Open Preview features.

Enable external tool access to Power BI Desktop through secure local APIs.

Screenshot of Power BI Desktop Options window under Preview features, highlighting the setting “Enable external tool access to Power BI Desktop through secure local APIs

Start using the Desktop Bridge

The easiest way to start is with the Power BI Desktop Bridge CLI. It lets you leverage the bridge in a simple, practical way, without building custom integrations first. Built on top of the bridge, it includes a set of intuitive commands ready to use.

The reload command is a great example. If you are making external changes to your PBIR files, you can simply run:

powerbi-desktop reload

This command reloads your on-disk changes in Power BI Desktop through the bridge, so you can keep iterating without closing and reopening Desktop.

The following are other useful commands at your fingertips:

# See what the bridge can do
powerbi-desktop manifest
# Check which Desktop instances are running
powerbi-desktop status
# Reload after making edits
powerbi-desktop reload
# Capture screenshots of every report page
powerbi-desktop screenshot-all

Ready to try it?

The Desktop Bridge is here, and it's ready to transform how you work with Power BI Desktop. Stop waiting for manual steps. Start automating.

Get started now: Power BI Desktop Bridge.

Original source

The June 2026 Power BI update is planned for publication on June 9, 2026.

For a quick summary of June features, read on. For a detailed look at these updates and more enhancements, see the Power BI June 2026 Feature Summary. You can also watch the June demos.

Download the June 2026 version of Power BI Desktop.

To stay up to date on bug fixes and improvements as they're announced, visit the change log for Power BI Desktop.

General

Power BI Dataviz World Championships announcement

The Dataviz World Championships return with kickoff events in June and a live finale at FabCon / SQLCon Barcelona.

FabCon Europe registration update

FabCon Europe takes place in Barcelona from September 28 to October 1, with community and Microsoft sessions across Fabric, Power BI, and related workloads.

Copilot and AI

Fabric Apps for Semantic Models (Preview)

Fabric Apps add an AI-first app development path on top of semantic models so teams can build operational data apps while reusing model governance and business logic. For more information, see Power BI data in Fabric Apps (preview).

Copilot in web modeling (Preview)

Copilot in model view helps analyze model structure and apply schema changes such as renames, relationships, and DAX measure creation by using natural language prompts. For more information, see Copilot in web modeling (preview).

AI-powered report authoring agent skills (Preview)

Power BI report authoring skills in Skills for Fabric support plan, design, author, validate, and publish workflows through natural language prompts.

Data answering in Fabric Skills, Cowork, and M365 Chat (Frontier)

Fabric IQ expands conversational data answering for Power BI reports and semantic models across Fabric and Microsoft 365 Copilot surfaces. For more information, see Fabric IQ in Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork (Frontier).

Data answering in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (Frontier)

Fabric IQ in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat enables Frontier users to ask business questions grounded in governed Power BI data. For more information, see Fabric IQ in Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (Frontier).

Reporting

Shape map (Generally Available)

Shape map now supports built-in maps, custom TopoJSON/GeoJSON uploads, URL-based map references, and downloading uploaded custom maps for reuse. For more information, see Create shape map visuals in Power BI.

Date picker for slicers (Preview)

A new Date picker slicer option supports relative defaults that roll forward with refresh and lets report viewers switch between relative and manual date selections. For more information, see Visualizations overview in Power BI.

Matrix row and column header auto-expand (Generally Available)

Matrix visuals now let you set auto-expand behavior for row and column headers so newly added hierarchy levels open expanded by default. For more information, see Format settings for the matrix visual in Power BI.

Scatter charts: Auto-fit markers

Scatter charts add Auto-fit markers to keep bubbles and markers fully visible near plot boundaries without manual axis range tuning. For more information, see Scatter charts, bubble charts, and dot plot charts in Power BI.

Axis improvements for bar and column charts (Generally Available)

Bar and column charts add Rounded range control and keep axis ranges stable when data labels are enabled. For more information, see Create and use column charts in Power BI.

Card visual image hover state options (Generally Available)

Card visuals now support hover-state image formatting, including alternate image source, transparency, effects, and background styling. For more information, see Create a card visual in Power BI.

Slicer selection icon color formatting (Generally Available)

Slicers now let you set selection icon colors to improve contrast and readability, especially for dark themes and custom branding. For more information, see Slicers in Power BI.

Matrix and table fixed-width conditional formatting (Generally Available)

Matrix and table visuals support rule-based fixed width formatting so column widths can be controlled more consistently by scenario. For more information, see Tables in Power BI.

Azure Maps selections on by default (Generally Available)

Azure Maps now shows selection controls by default so users can start multi-point selection with circles, rectangles, polygons, distance, and drive-time tools. For more information, see Azure and Power BI map visualizations.

Tooltip sentence options for visuals (Generally Available)

Tooltip options now include sentence-style text so authors can explain values with context without creating full tooltip pages. For more information, see Tooltips in Power BI.

Modeling

DAX user-defined functions (Generally Available)

DAX UDFs are now generally available with reusable typed function signatures and broader authoring workflows across Desktop and web modeling. For more information, see DAX user-defined functions best practices.

DAX UDF optional parameters

UDFs now support default expressions for parameters so callers can omit selected arguments while preserving type-aware execution. For more information, see DAX user-defined functions best practices.

DAX query view result grid sorting and filtering (Generally Available)

DAX query view result grids now include sort and filter controls to inspect query output without rewriting query text. For more information, see DAX query view in Power BI.

Visualizations

Network Graph by Powerviz

Network Graph updates include directional links, clustering, duplicate-node merge options, and expanded formatting controls for relationship analysis scenarios.

accoMASTERDATA v1.1.16.2

accoMASTERDATA updates add richer writeback, governance, and data-entry options including transaction keys, multiline text, and enhanced dropdown behavior.

Data connectivity

No dedicated data connectivity announcement in this release summary

The June draft doesn't call out a dedicated Data connectivity feature area.

Other

Power BI Enhanced Report Format (PBIR) default-on rollout update

The PBIR default-on rollout resumes in the service, with Desktop default-on timing planned after rollout stability checks. For more information, see PBIR format.

Power BI Desktop Bridge (Preview)

Desktop Bridge enables agent and tool integration with a running Power BI Desktop session for iterative authoring and validation workflows. For more information, see Power BI Desktop Bridge overview.

Power BI tabs in Teams private and shared channels

Power BI tabs in Teams now support private and shared channels so reports can be embedded in scoped collaboration spaces. For more information, see Collaborate in Microsoft Teams with Power BI.

Resources

Want to learn about Power BI through videos and other engaging content? Check out these video sources and content:

• See all Power BI playlists on YouTube.
• Power BI YouTube channel: Official Microsoft Power BI channel.
• Follow Power BI on X @MSPowerBI.
• Go to the Power BI forums in the Microsoft Fabric Community.

Note

Some resources use earlier versions of Power BI Desktop or the Power BI service.

If your organization needs an earlier version, download it. Use the most recent version of Power BI Desktop when possible. Earlier versions have these limitations:

• Previous releases of Power BI Desktop aren't serviced. Use the most recent release for the latest features and updates.
• Previous versions can't open files created or saved in newer releases of Power BI Desktop.
• If you load a report from a newer release, get a warning, and then save it in a previous version, you lose information related to new features.
• Only English versions of Power BI Desktop are archived.

Download the June 2026 version of Power BI Desktop.

Original source

AI powered Power BI reporting skills is a collection of multiple skills that enables AI agents to automate report creation, from designing pages to publishing to Fabric. Now available through the Power BI authoring plugin in Skills for Fabric —a first-party catalog of agent skills for Microsoft Fabric optimized for GitHub Copilot CLI—this capability allows agents to author reports through natural language, write schema-correct PBIR files, reload Power BI Desktop, capture screenshots, and iteratively refine reports for a seamless, end-to-end authoring experience.

Original source

Microsoft Build 2026 marks a major shift in how developers build data experiences with AI agents. Today we're announcing two capabilities that bring agentic analytics to the forefront: Agent Skills for Power BI, which let developers prompt an AI agent to build and refine semantic models and reports, and Fabric Apps for Semantic Models, which enable AI agents to build and deploy Fabric-native web apps on semantic models. Both capabilities will accelerate the time it takes to go from raw data to a polished analytics solution with just natural language prompts.

Original source