How do AI enabled and Connected to AI work in your inventory?
Asset Navigator shows AI in two separate ways. AI enabled tells you where AI runs. Connected to AI tells you where AI sits in the connections around an asset.
- AI enabled is a field you set yourself, on an asset or on a component. It means: this thing uses AI.
- Connected to AI is calculated automatically from the links. It means: one or more components in this asset's links use AI.
An asset can be both, one or neither. The two never overwrite each other.
AI enabled on an asset
Set AI enabled on an asset when the asset itself uses AI. You choose Yes, No or Unknown, and nothing changes it automatically.
Examples where the asset is AI enabled:
- A Power BI report that uses Copilot to write summaries
- An HR app that screens CVs with a language model
- An AI agent (AI Agent assets always use AI)
Examples where the asset is not AI enabled:
- A data lake that stores data, even if that data is later used by AI
- A report that only shows results that were calculated by AI elsewhere
Not sure? Choose Unknown. You can filter on Unknown later to see which assets still need an answer.
AI enabled on a component
Components are the parts of a link between two assets: an extract, a transformation, a dataset, an AI scoring step. Set AI enabled on the component that uses AI.
Components always belong to a link, never to a single asset. That's why a component being AI enabled does not change the AI enabled field of the assets on either side. Instead, both assets show Connected to AI.
Connected to AI and the AI connections tab
When a link contains at least one AI enabled component, the link and both assets on it show Connected to AI. This is calculated from the components, so you never set it yourself.
On the asset: under the AI enabled field, a short line such as Connected to AI through 1 component. View in the AI connections tab.
In the AI connections tab: one entry per link, with the AI enabled components named:
Data Lake → Report
Sentiment scoring (1 of 4 components)
On the link: the same line, Connected to AI: via Sentiment scoring (1 of 4 components).
If a link has no AI enabled components, nothing is shown for it.
Following AI through the flow
In the flow view, Asset Navigator counts how many AI enabled components and assets sit upstream and downstream of the asset you're looking at.
Example: Report feeds a Finance dashboard, which feeds a Board pack.
- Finance dashboard: 1 AI enabled component upstream (Sentiment scoring, 1 step away)
- Board pack: 1 AI enabled component upstream (Sentiment scoring, 2 steps away)
Neither of them is AI enabled itself, but you can see that AI-generated output reaches them. Looking downstream from Data Lake works the same way: you see which AI enabled components its data passes through.
Common questions
A component in a link is AI enabled. Why does the asset still say No?
Because the asset itself doesn't run AI. The AI runs in the connection. You'll see it under Connected to AI and in the AI connections tab.
Why doesn't Asset Navigator set the asset to Yes automatically?
An asset often has many links. If every AI component turned its source and target assets into AI enabled, one AI step in a data pipeline would mark dozens of assets as using AI. Your AI inventory would no longer show where AI actually runs.
Can an asset be AI enabled and Connected to AI at the same time?
Yes. A report that uses Copilot is AI enabled. If it also receives data through an AI enabled component, it's Connected to AI as well.
Do I need to enter components to use AI enabled?
No. For a simple asset like a report, set AI enabled on the asset and you're done. Add components only when you want to record AI that runs in a connection.
Where do I see which components use AI?
Open the asset and go to the AI connections tab. Components are grouped by link, for example: Data Lake → Report: Sentiment scoring (1 of 4 components).
Quick reference
| Where | What you see | Set by | Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | AI enabled: Yes, No or Unknown | You | The asset itself uses AI |
| Component | AI enabled: Yes, No or Unknown | You | This part of a link uses AI |
| Link | Connected to AI, via the AI enabled components (x of y) | Automatic | AI runs somewhere in this connection |
| Asset | Connected to AI, listed in the AI connections tab | Automatic | One or more of its links contain AI |
| Flow view | AI enabled components and assets upstream and downstream | Automatic | Where AI output comes from and where your data goes |