Factsmith Ask - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

Factsmith Ask is an on-premises plain-language question-and-answer tool that lets business users query their own operational data by typing or speaking, without building dashboards or engaging an analyst. A Fact Layer, comprising data integration, a knowledge base, and a business ontology, sits between the source database and the answer. This layer translates raw data into governed facts and business-defined KPIs, enforcing agreed definitions for terms such as revenue, customer, and on time, so every answer is consistent regardless of who asks the question. Factsmith Ask targets small and mid-sized businesses in distribution, multi-store retail, manufacturing, and franchise networks that lack a dedicated analytics team.

Factsmith Ask accepts questions by voice or text, transcribing spoken input into editable text before execution. Answers are self-explaining: users can see which fields were used, why a particular chart was selected, and inspect the underlying query on demand. Saved answers can be grouped into user-named persistent dashboards with custom layouts, and those dashboards can be exported as PDF executive summaries with embedded charts. Target-setting on measures produces colour-coded tiles that flag off-track performance at a glance. Multiple AI models are selectable; the product discloses the per-question cost and whether each model sends data outside the company network. Role-based permissions are enforced beneath the AI layer, so the model only receives data the requesting user is authorised to see. Per-question cost logging covers refused queries as well as answered ones.

Deployment is on-premises via a folder and installer requiring Docker Desktop. No internet connection is required after installation, and the product operates without an AI key using pre-verified stored answers. Each deployment is single-company and single-source-database, keeping organisational data fully isolated. This architecture makes Factsmith Ask suited to businesses with data governance or data-residency requirements that preclude shared cloud platforms.