Set entity categories for SearchIQ

Entity categories help describe the column content, and assist SearchIQ in interpreting natural language queries.

SearchIQ is in Beta.

  • SearchIQ is only available in English.

  • SerchIQ is in Beta, and off by default; to enable it, contact ThoughtSpot Support.

  • You must have the Can use experimental features permission.

Entity categories specify how to categorize the data in the column, by entity type. By default, ENTITY TYPE is not set. Entity categories support SearchIQ so that when you type a natural question, ThoughtSpot better knows how to interpret it. For example, if you ask "who are the top performers?" ThoughtSpot will first choose columns set with PERSON from which to return answers. If you ask "when was the movie Jurassic Park released?", columns set to TIME will be used to answer the "when" part of the question, and so forth.

If you have access to tables and worksheets for data modeling purposes, you can specify entity categories for their columns. This lets you designate that column as representing a person, place, or thing. So then when a user asks "Which", "Who", or "Where", an appropriate response can more easily be found in the data.

If you’re not sure how to change the data modeling settings, see the Overview of data modeling settings.

About Entity Categories

These are the available Entity Categories:

Category Description

PERSON

Contains data that represents a person, relevant to questions about "who?"

PLACE

Contains data that represents a location, relevant to questions about "where?"

TIME

Contains data that represents a date or time, relevant to questions about "when?"

PRODUCT

Contains data that represents a product

ZIP_CODE

Contains zip code data, relevant to questions like "where?" or "what zip code?"

LAT_LONG

Contains data that represents geographical positioning, relevant to questions like "where?"

COMPANY_ORG

Contains data that represents a company or organization

NUM_TYPES

Contains numerical data

Set Entity Categories

To specify entity categories:

  1. Click Data in the top menu, and choose Tables or Worksheets.

  2. Click the name of your table or worksheet.

  3. On the Columns tab, find the COLUMN NAMES for which you want to specify entity categories, and scroll to the right to find ENTITY CATEGORY.

  4. Use the drop-down menu to set the ENTITY CATEGORY to the type you want.

  5. Click SAVE CHANGES in the upper right.

Related information

Was this page helpful?
×