When a number, a trend, or a table is the answer, Tooli doesn't just describe it — it renders it. Ask about sales versus plan and Tooli can reply with a KPI card, a chart, or a live slice of your planning grid, right inside the conversation. These visuals load your live plan data under your own permissions, so what you see is always what you'd see in the plan itself.
Use Cases
Getting a single headline figure at a glance — "What are net sales for Q1, and how do we compare to plan?"
Seeing a trend instead of reading one — "Chart weekly sales vs. plan for Women's this quarter"
Comparing categories side by side — "Show me gross margin by department as a bar chart"
Pulling up a focused slice of the plan — "Show me a grid of receipts and inventory by class for the next 8 weeks"
KPI Cards
Ask for a single figure and Tooli can render it as a KPI card: one large number with a label, an optional comparison chip, and a few supporting figures underneath.
The comparison chip shows the change versus plan, actuals, or last year — colored by whether the direction is good (up for sales, down for markdowns).
Values are formatted from the metric's own definition, so currency, percentage, and unit metrics all display correctly.
Charts
Tooli supports six chart types:
Chart type | Best for |
Line | A trend over weeks or months |
Area | A trend where volume matters |
Bar | One measure across categories |
Grouped bar | Comparing measures side by side (e.g. actual vs. plan) |
Stacked bar | Composition across categories |
Donut | Share of a total |
Trend charts plot fiscal weeks or months from your plan's own calendar.
Baseline series like plan or last year render muted and dashed behind the actuals, so the comparison reads at a glance.
Hover over any point to see the exact formatted value.
Tooli keeps charts focused — up to 6 series and 60 points per chart. If you ask for more, it will narrow the view or split it into multiple charts.
Live Grids
For questions that need rows and columns, Tooli embeds the real Toolio planning grid in the chat — the same grid you plan in, loading live data.
Tooli configures the grid to the question: just the metrics you asked about, grouped at the level you care about, scoped to the period in question.
You can also ask for one of your saved Merchandise Plan views by name — "show me the In-Season Planning view" — and Tooli renders it as saved.
Group rows expand and collapse like the regular planning grid.
The grid respects your data permissions and the scenario you ask for.
Grids in chat are read-only — they're for looking, not editing. To change a number, jump to the Merchandise Plan page.
Live Data, Not Screenshots
Visuals backed by a query stay connected to your plan. When a conversation reloads, the card, chart, or grid loads fresh data — no stale copies.
You can also refine a visual in place: ask Tooli to "make that monthly instead of weekly" or "add last year as a comparison," and it updates the same chart rather than stacking a new one into the conversation.
Good to Know
Visuals currently read from Merchandise Plan data. Assortment Plan, Item Plan, and Allocation questions still get full answers in text — visual support for those modules is on the roadmap.
Grids show metric values grouped by attributes. Listing attribute values themselves (for example, a table of option attributes) isn't supported in a grid yet.
Data is bucketed by week or month, following your plan's calendar. Daily breakdowns aren't available.
There are no export or download buttons on chat visuals yet. For exports, use the Merchandise Plan page.
FAQs
Can I edit numbers in a grid Tooli shows me?
No — grids in chat are read-only. Open the Merchandise Plan page to make edits. Tooli will link you to the right place when you ask.
Do charts and grids show data I don't have access to?
No. Every visual loads data under your own user session, so it respects exactly the same data permissions as the rest of Toolio.
Can Tooli chart data from Assortment Plan or Allocation?
Not yet. Visuals currently read from Merchandise Plan. Tooli can still analyze and answer questions about the other modules in text.
The chart came back empty — what happened?
Usually the scope: many organizations keep plan values in a named scenario rather than the base plan. Ask Tooli to use your working scenario by name — "use the Working Plan scenario" — and it will re-render the visual.
Does a chart survive after the conversation ends?
Yes — visuals are saved with the conversation. Reopen the conversation from History and they reload with fresh data.