The July 2025 Power BI update delivers a thoughtfully curated set of enhancements, with a clear focus on collaboration, AI reliability, data connectivity, and design consistency. While it does not introduce headline-grabbing features, it offers solid, practical improvements that enhance everyday workflows across enterprise and self-service environments.
We know that Power BI release notes can be overwhelming, so our aim with these posts is to cut through the noise and provide a quick summary of the features we find genuinely useful, interesting, or exciting. Whether you are a report designer, data modeler, or business stakeholder, our focus is to highlight updates that offer the most value for real-world reporting and analytics.
Richer Microsoft 365 Integration
Now your Power BI report metadata (chart titles, descriptions, refresh timestamps) is surfaced in M365 search and Copilot experiences. This improves discoverability across the Microsoft ecosystem, making it easier to score the right dataset or dashboard without digging through silos.
Smarter, Safer Copilot Experiences
Copilot is sharpening its game with three major improvements:
- It now prioritises structured report content before raw data model fields—translating into more accurate, context-aware answers.
- Workspace admins can restrict Copilot to vetted content only.
- “Verified answers” ensure high-quality, curated responses, boosting user confidence and reducing AI hallucinations.
For teams striving for reliable analytics, this is a game-changer.
On-Premises Reporting Unified
Sql Server 2025 ushers in a new era: all on-prem reports (including paginated and mobile-ready) now live under Power BI Report Server (PBIRS). If your org relies on SSRS, this simplifies licensing and futureproofs your BI stack.
New Data Connectors: Snowflake, BigQuery & More
Connectivity gets a serious boost with these July enhancements:
- Snowflake connector moves out of beta
- BigQuery (with Entra ID) and Databricks via ADBC enter preview
- Netezza now connects via ODBC
- PostgreSQL gains Entra ID authentication
This elevates your ability to tap modern cloud warehouses and legacy systems in one analytics environment.
Themes & Sorting Control in Teams
Design consistency just got easier:
- Tenant-wide Power BI themes now in preview—ensuring brand and style cohesion
- Teams app navigation menu is redesigned for quicker access
- Visuals’ order by behaviour can now be influenced via field parameters (preview)
For larger organisations, these unlock standardisation and user empowerment.
One More Thing: Direct Lake in Desktop
Semantic users rejoice: Power BI Desktop can now connect to mirrored or SQL sources directly in Direct Lake mode. This makes real-time model development possible without needing to publish—a welcome boost for rapid prototyping.
Final Thoughts
July’s update leans into collaboration, practical AI, and broader connectivity; not headline-grabbing, but solid enhancements that reduce friction and boost governance. Whether you’re focused on enterprise data delivery or lean prototyping, these changes nudge Power BI closer to your real-world needs.
For the full feature list and technical detail, see the official Power BI July Feature Summary.
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