22 Chapter 13. AI Tools for Data Visualization

After exploring the importance of visuals in research, discussing best practices for designing them effectively, and examining the ethical considerations behind their use, we now turn to the practical side: AI-powered tools that can help you bring your data to life with precision and creativity.

In this chapter, we introduce you to a range of AI tools that make data visualization more accessible, even for those without design or coding expertise. We’ll begin with AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude, which can generate and customize a variety of charts and graphs based on your dataset and prompts. Then, we’ll look at Julius AI, a platform that goes beyond textual analysis to suggest and create insightful visualizations based on interactive questions and workflows.

Next, we explore Excel with Copilot and Google Sheets with Gemini, two familiar tools enhanced with powerful AI features that make visualizing data faster and smarter. Finally, we share a collection of design-focused platforms that are great at creating infographics, posters, and other visual assets: Canva, Adobe Express, Piktochart, Visme, Venngage, and Figma. These tools combine user-friendly interfaces with AI features that automate layout, suggest design improvements, and help you craft polished visuals that communicate your research clearly and compellingly.

1. AI Chatbots

As you’ve probably noticed throughout this book, AI chatbots especially ChatGPT and Claude are our go-to, all-in-one AI-powered tools. We rely on them for nearly everything, and data visualization is no exception. These chatbots can generate a wide range of visualizations for your research data, making the process both efficient and intuitive.

All you need to do is upload your dataset, preferably in a CSV file, to your chatbot of choice and start a conversation about the type of visualization you need. Just like with other tasks, you can ask the AI to suggest the best way to represent your data, whether it’s a bar chart, scatter plot, heatmap, or correlation matrix.

AI chatbots can also help you decide which type of visualization best fits your data. This is something you should absolutely take advantage of. Instead of blindly choosing a chart, ask the bot: “Which visualization type is most relevant for my data?” It will analyze your dataset and suggest the most appropriate options. You can go with its recommendations or stick to your own choices, but it never hurts to get AI-driven insights before proceeding.

Also, if you want to customize the look and feel of your visualizations, make sure to be specific about colors, styles, and formatting. AI chatbots allow you to tweak visual elements, so don’t settle for a default chart when you can tailor it to fit your needs.

For example, you can use prompts like:

• “Generate a bar chart comparing average rent across cities. Use blue for high-rent cities and green for low-rent cities.”
• “Create a scatter plot of population size vs. median income with labeled data points and a trendline.”
• “I need a heatmap showing unemployment rates by region. Use a gradient from light yellow (low rates) to dark red (high rates).”

And when creating different types of visualizations, these prompts can help guide your chatbot interaction:

• Bar Charts: “Show me a bar chart comparing median income in different cities.”
• Line Graphs: “Generate a line graph tracking unemployment trends over time.”
• Scatter Plots: “Create a scatter plot showing the relationship between rent prices and income.”
• Histograms: “I need a histogram visualizing the distribution of population sizes across cities.”
• Pie Charts: “Make a pie chart breaking down different income brackets within a dataset.”

Being clear in your prompts ensures you get precise, visually appealing, and meaningful charts that align with your research goals.

For those of you using ChatGPT and Claude, make sure to work within the Projects folder you created in these models. Remember, we previously discussed how Projects help you organize your chat history, upload documents, and provide more context to your AI interactions. Using this feature allows you to keep all your data, analysis, and visualizations in one place, making it easier to track progress and refine your work over time.

If you’re using ChatGPT, you can take it a step further by leveraging Custom GPTs specifically designed for data visualization. ChatGPT offers a built-in custom GPT called “Data Analyst”, which is optimized for working with datasets and generating visualizations. To find additional options, simply enter a search query like “Data Visualization” in the Explore GPTs section, and you’ll get a list of available custom models.

Before using any Custom GPT, take a moment to review its privacy policy. Always check how and where your data will be stored to ensure your research remains secure. To access Custom GPTs, open ChatGPT, then click on “Explore GPTs” on the left-hand side of your interface. If you find one that suits your needs, give it a try, but remember, privacy comes first!

As always, when working with generative AI, remember that iteration is key. Your first prompt might not always produce the perfect result, but that doesn’t mean the tool isn’t capable, it just means you need to refine your instructions. Adjust your wording, add more details, or try a different approach until you get exactly what you need.

Also, when generating visuals in ChatGPT or Claude, be sure to specify the title and captions you want included in your chart or graph. This way, when you download the final visualization, it’s presentation-ready, saving you time on editing later.

2. Julius AI

As we have seen in the previous chapter, Julius AI is a powerful tool for text-based analysis. However, it goes beyond textual insights by offering a suite of AI-driven data visualization tools that allow researchers to create clear and insightful graphics. The platform is designed to be user-friendly and requires no technical expertise which makes it accessible to researchers across disciplines.

Simply log in to your Julius AI account, upload your dataset, and start interacting with your data conversationally, just like using an AI chatbot. You can ask questions, request summaries, and generate visualizations instantly. Alternatively, you can run pre-made workflows that automate common visualization tasks, saving time and effort.

Julius provides a wide variety of pre-built workflows, including:

• Bar charts and pie charts for comparing categorical data, such as median income across different cities.
• Line graphs and area charts for analyzing trends over time, like unemployment rate fluctuations.
• Scatter plots and correlation matrices to explore relationships between variables, such as the connection between rent prices and median income.
• Box plots and histograms to visualize data distribution and detect outliers.

Julius AI helps you make sense of your data by suggesting insightful questions that guide your visualization process. Instead of leaving you to figure out which charts to create, Julius anticipates key relationships in your data and provides recommendations thus making the entire process smoother and more intuitive.

For instance, we uploaded a hypothetical dataset containing information on different U.S. cities, including population, median income, average rent, and unemployment rates. Julius immediately suggested relevant questions to help structure our analysis, such as:

• How does population size relate to median income?
• What is the correlation between average rent and unemployment rate?
• Which city has the highest median income compared to rent?
• What trends exist between unemployment rates and city population?

When we clicked on the first question, Julius provided visualization options such as bar chart, scatter plot, heatmap, histogram, or line chart. All we had to do was select the plot type and hit “Generate Plot”, and within seconds, Julius created the visualization for me which you can then download and use in your paper. Simple, efficient, and incredibly helpful!

3. Excel with Copilot

We know that many researchers love working with Excel. It’s been around forever, and for good reasons. Excel provides some powerful features for data analysis, as we’ve seen in the previous chapter, and it also offers equally important features for data visualization. But with the integration of Microsoft Copilot, Excel has evolved into something much more powerful.

If you’re already using Excel for data visualization, you should know that Copilot can take your workflow to the next level. It helps you generate charts, identify trends, create PivotTables, and even suggest formulas, all through simple AI-powered interactions. No more manually setting up visualizations or struggling with complex formulas, just ask Copilot, and it does the heavy lifting for you.

What Can You Do with Copilot for Data Visualization?

Here are some of the key ways Copilot can enhance your data visualization in Excel:

 3.1. Generate Charts Instantly

Instead of manually selecting a chart type, you can ask Copilot to create visualizations for you. For example, try:

• “Create a bar graph showing the sales growth between Q2 and Q3.”
• “Generate a line chart comparing population trends across cities.”
• “Show a scatter plot for median income vs. average rent.”

Copilot not only generates the chart but also suggests the best visualization type based on your dataset.

 3.2. Identify Insights Automatically

If you’re unsure what patterns exist in your data, just ask Copilot to analyze and highlight key insights. It can suggest:

• Which variables have a strong correlation.
• What trends exist over time.
• How data points compare across categories.

This is incredibly useful when you’re dealing with large datasets and need to quickly uncover trends without deep manual analysis.

 3.3. Work with PivotTables More Efficiently

PivotTables are one of Excel’s most powerful features but setting them up can be tedious. With Copilot, you can automate the process by saying something like:

• “Create a PivotTable summarizing total sales per category.”
• “Generate a table comparing revenue across all regions.”

Copilot will generate the PivotTable structure, apply filters, and organize your data saving you valuable time.

3.4. Generate and Edit Formulas

If you’re not sure how to write a formula for a new column or row, Copilot can do it for you. Instead of manually entering calculations, just type:

• “Add a column that calculates the percentage difference between column A and column C.”
• “Insert a row that sums up total sales per quarter.”
• “Create a formula that calculates profit per product.”

Copilot will suggest formulas, explain how they work, and let you insert them into your sheet with a click.

3.5. Customize and Format Your Charts

Once your chart is created, Copilot can help refine it by adjusting labels, colors, and formatting. Just ask:

• “Bold the top three values in Annual Sales.”
• “Change the chart style to a monochrome theme.”
• “Highlight data points above a certain threshold.”

This allows you to fine-tune your visualizations without spending time manually tweaking settings.

Like the custom GPTs we discussed with ChatGPT, Excel also supports third-party integrations, some of which offer enhanced data visualization features. You can explore these tools in Microsoft AppSource by searching for “data visualization” and browsing the results. Each app listing specifies which Microsoft tools it integrates with (e.g., Excel, Word, or both). One popular option worth checking out is ChatGPT for Excel, which brings AI-powered insights and automation to your spreadsheets.

4. Google Sheets with Gemini

Just like Excel, Google Sheets is a fantastic free tool for creating data visualizations in the form of tables, charts, and graphs. It’s simple, widely accessible, and doesn’t require any expensive software or plugins. But what makes it even more powerful now is the integration of Gemini, Google’s flagship Generative AI tool.

However, as of writing these lines, Gemini is available in Google Sheets only for select users with access to Google Workspace AI features. If you have access, you can leverage Gemini to generate charts, analyze trends, and provide data-driven insights, all through AI-powered prompts.

How Can You Use Gemini for Data Visualization in Google Sheets?

Here are some practical ways to use Gemini in Google Sheets to generate visualizations for your research data:

4.1. Generate Charts and Graphs Instantly

Instead of manually selecting chart types, you can ask Gemini to generate visualizations for you based on your dataset. Try using prompts like:

• “Create a bar chart comparing monthly sales.”
• “Generate a pie chart showing the distribution of expenses.”
• “Visualize the trend of user engagement over time with a line graph.”

Gemini will analyze your data and suggest the best chart type for your needs.

4.2. Identify Insights and Trends

If you’re unsure what patterns exist in your data, ask Gemini to highlight key trends. You can say:

• “What is the correlation between marketing spend and revenue?”
• “Show me the highest and lowest values in my dataset.”
• “Find trends in customer retention over the past year.”

Gemini will analyze and summarize insights, making it easier to spot significant data points.

4.3. Enhance Data Formatting for Better Visualization

Formatting can make a huge difference in how your data is understood. Gemini can help you:

• Resize and format charts for better legibility
• Adjust colors and labels to emphasize key data points

4.4. Highlight specific categories using different shades

Simply ask: “Change all bars in the graph to gray except for the top-performing product, which should be red.”

4.5. Use AI-Powered Formula Generation

Just like Excel’s Copilot, Gemini can help you generate formulas for new columns or calculations:

• “Add a column calculating the percentage growth from last year’s sales.”
• “Create a formula that finds the average rating for each product.”
• “Highlight all values above 10,000 in green.”

This makes it much easier to automate calculations without manually writing formulas.

4.6. Publish and Share Interactive Visualizations

• Once your charts are ready, Google Sheets allows you to publish them online.
• Click on the three-dot menu in your chart.
• Select “Publish chart” to generate an embed link or export the visualization.
• Any changes you make will automatically update in the published version.

With Gemini in Google Sheets, you can easily generate, refine, and interpret visualizations faster than ever. Google Sheets also supports third-party add-ons which you can download from the Google Workspace Marketplace to extend its functionality. Some of these add-ons are particularly useful for creating data visualizations such as flowcharts, org charts, UML diagrams, and network diagrams directly within your spreadsheet. Tools like SmartDraw Diagrams help you create professional-quality visuals, while Lucidchart Diagrams makes it easy to attach and collaborate on diagrams within Gmail.

5. Infographics and Posters

There is a popular saying that states that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. Sometimes no matter how much verbiage we generate a picture does more justice to our idea than mere verbal tokens. However, this is only true when the image is well crafted. Luckily, technology nowadays and more specifically AI powered one enables you to do the job much more easily and efficiently. No technical knowledge needed. In fact, this is one of the great things we like about current technology, it has levelled and democratized the playing field to unprecedented dimensions.

So, while figures, charts, and tables are all part of the visual display we want to include in our communication toolkit when reporting or presenting our research data, other graphic elements especially infographics and posters are equally important in crafting and creating that ‘well-designed picture’ few talked about.

The following is a collection of some AI-powered tools that you can use to create infographics and posters as well as various other types of visuals. These tools are simple and easy to use and they also include AI features that further facilitate the design and creation process. Most of the them offer free basic plans that come with basic features, premium versions offer more advanced features.

5.1. Canva

Canva is our go-to tool for designing just about any type of visual content: infographics, posters, presentations, social media visuals, digital handouts, you name it. It’s fast, flexible, and user-friendly. Getting started is straightforward: create a free account, log in, and dive in. You can choose to begin with a blank canvas if you want full control, or you can select from a massive library of pre-made templates. These templates are thoughtfully organized into categories like education, marketing, social media, and more, so it’s easy to find something that fits your purpose. There’s also a robust search function if you’re looking for something more specific.

Templates come in two tiers: free and premium. Premium templates are marked with a small crown icon. If you’re on a free plan, you can still access a wide variety of high-quality designs. Once you choose a template, it opens in the Canva editor. You can add or adjust shapes, icons, stock photos, custom images, text blocks, animations, and even draw freehand elements directly on the canvas.

One of the features we like the most is Magic Design, Canva’s built-in AI tool (available to premium users). Magic Design lets you input a text prompt or upload an image, and it instantly generates a set of professional-looking visual suggestions based on your input. It’s especially useful for sparking ideas or speeding up your workflow when you’re short on time.

You can also add animations and hyperlinks to make your visuals more dynamic and interactive. This is ideal for digital posters, learning materials, interactive PDFs, or presentations shared online. Just remember: if your visual includes hyperlinks or animations, it must be exported as a PDF for those elements to work. Static formats like PNG or JPG won’t support interactivity.

5.2. Adobe Express

Much like Canva, Adobe Express provides a drag-and-drop interface and tons of templates and features. You can use it to resize visuals, apply branding elements, and generate unique layouts in seconds. The brand kit feature is especially useful if you’re working on multiple projects and need to maintain a consistent look. And since it’s part of the Adobe ecosystem, it integrates seamlessly with other Adobe tools allowing for a smooth workflow if you’re also using Photoshop or Illustrator. For those working on presentations, reports, or academic posters, Adobe Express offers AI-powered design suggestions, automated resizing for different formats, and a huge library of high-quality assets.

5.3. Piktochart

Piktochart is anorther good option to consider for creating research visuals. You can use it to design infographics, posters, reports, or any other type of data visualizations. Piktochart offers a wide range of pre-made templates that you can easily customize. No design skills are required, simply pick a template, tweak the text, colors, and graphics, and you’ll have a professional-looking visual in minutes.

Piktochart also offers a handy text-to-image tool which lets you describe the image you want and get it generated instantly.  Another helpful feature is document-to-visual conversion. Instead of manually transferring content, Piktochart lets you upload a report or document, and it will instantly transform key information into a visually engaging format, saving you time and effort.

For data-heavy projects, Piktochart makes it easy to generate charts and graphs in just a few clicks. You can customize pie charts, bar charts, pictographs, and more to clearly represent your findings. It also supports diagrams and flowcharts, which are perfect for illustrating processes, structures, and research frameworks. To enhance your visuals, Piktochart provides a vast library of icons, illustrations, shapes, and photos that you can use to refine your design. It also offers special design components like masked photos, lists, timelines, and comparison charts, which help organize complex information in a clear, engaging way

5.4. Visme

If you love tools like Canva and Piktochart but want something with a little more power and flexibility, Visme is a good option. You can start with a blank canvas or choose from a wide selection of professionally designed layouts to get a head start.

Visme embeds an AI-powered designer which can generate ready-to-use designs from a simple text prompt. Just describe what you need, and Visme will create a polished visual in minutes. Visme also offers interactive charts, graphs, and infographics that allow you to present your findings in a way that’s both visually compelling and easy to understand.

To further enhance your work, Visme provides tons of high-resolution photos, icons, and 3D graphics. You can also add interactivity with hover effects, clickable menus, and animated elements, making your visuals more engaging. Collaboration is another strong feature in Visme. Whether you’re working solo or with a team of researchers, you can share designs, provide feedback, and edit in real time. Plus, with built-in asset management, all your uploaded images, graphics, and templates are stored in one place, making it easy to stay organized.

5.5. Venngage

Venngage is a user-friendly yet highly capable platform for creating infographics, charts, diagrams, and data-driven visuals. Its intuitive drag-and-drop editor makes it accessible to beginners, while its AI-powered features add a layer of speed and sophistication that appeals to professionals and educators alike.

You start by selecting a template, Venngage offers a wide variety organized by use case: reports, timelines, comparisons, statistical breakdowns, and more. From there, the customization process is seamless: adjust colors, fonts, icons, and layout elements to match your content and style.

What gives Venngage an edge is its suite of AI tools. The AI infographic generator lets you type a simple prompt, and it instantly produces a fully designed visual. Whether you’re summarizing data or outlining a concept, this feature gets you from idea to output fast. The AI diagram generator works the same way: type what you need (e.g., “a flowchart showing steps in a research process”), and Venngage generates it automatically, ready for you to refine.

The same for creating charts. Just describe what you want, bar chart, pie chart, line graph, and Venngage will create a pre-formatted version that you can edit and style. It even includes an AI mind map generator, useful for brainstorming, organizing presentations, or mapping out research ideas.

5.6. Figma

Unlike more beginner-friendly platforms like Canva or Adobe Express, Figma demands a bit of a learning curve. It’s not a drag-and-drop environment; it’s a fully-featured, vector-based design tool built for precision, flexibility, and collaboration. You can create pixel-perfect graphics, complex layouts, and scalable vector visuals with full control over layers, grids, typography, and alignment. It’s especially well-suited for designers who want to move beyond cookie-cutter aesthetics and produce custom infographics, posters, or UI mockups.

Figma also provides interesting real-time collaboration features. You and your collaborators can edit the same file simultaneously, leave comments, track changes, and manage design systems all in the cloud. It works entirely in the browser (or via desktop app).

The prototyping tools are another strength, if you’re working on interactive visuals, you can simulate user flows, transitions, and clickable elements right inside Figma.

Of course, all this power comes with a price: time. If you’re new to vector editing or used to template-based tools, expect to spend some time learning the ropes. But once you do, you’ll find that Figma gives you complete creative freedom and the ability to bring your ideas to life exactly as you imagined them.

Conclusion

In this chapter, we explored numerous AI-powered tools to help you visualize your research data. We started AI chatbots and explained how tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can help you generate a wide range of visualizations, from bar charts to scatter plots by simply uploading your data and providing clear, well-structured prompts. These tools are ideal for fast, interactive exploration and for receiving AI-driven recommendations on the most suitable visual formats for your data.

For more advanced visualization workflows, we looked at Julius AI, which offers guided, question-based interactions to uncover patterns and create insightful graphics. And when it comes to crafting high-quality, design-rich outputs like infographics, posters, and academic visuals, tools such as Canva, Adobe Express, Piktochart, Venngage, Visme, and Figma are good options to consider. These platforms blend intuitive interfaces with AI-enhanced features allowing you to design visuals that are not only beautiful but also impactful and academically robust.

Indeed, AI-powered technology makes it super easy to visualize your data even if you have no background in design or coding. From generating charts with a simple prompt to customizing complex infographics, the tools available today lower the barriers and let you focus on what matters most: communicating your research clearly and effectively. But ease of use should not mean a lack of intentionality. A good visualization is not just about aesthetics; it’s about clarity, accuracy, and purpose. The tools can assist, but your role as a researcher is to ensure that every visual tells the right story, supports your argument, and respects ethical standards.