Using Snowflake Copilot inline¶

Access control requirements¶

The COPILOT_USER database role in the SNOWFLAKE database includes the privileges that allow users to use Snowflake Copilot features. By default, the COPILOT_USER role is granted to the PUBLIC role. The PUBLIC role is automatically granted to all users and roles, so this allows all users in your account to use Snowflake Copilot features.

In addition to the COPILOT_USER requirement, users must have the CORTEX_USER role. The CORTEX_USER database role in the SNOWFLAKE database includes the privileges that allow users to call Snowflake AISQL functions. By default, the CORTEX_USER role is granted to the PUBLIC role. The PUBLIC role is automatically granted to all users and roles, so this allows all users in your account to use the Snowflake AISQL functions.

Snowflake Copilot inline requires that the user has access to the claude-3.5-sonnet model. To ensure all users have access to this model, make sure that claude-3.5-sonnet is included in the model allowlist and is not limited by role-based access control (RBAC). For more information about controlling model access, see Control model access.

If users have the correct permissions, they see the Snowflake Copilot inline sparkle icon in Workspaces. They can use the inline interface to interact with Snowflake Copilot.

To remove access to Copilot inline, you must revoke access to either CORTEX_USER or COPILOT_USER. If you don’t want all users to have this privilege, you can revoke access to the PUBLIC role and grant access to specific roles. For example, to revoke access from the PUBLIC role, use the following query:

USE ROLE ACCOUNTADMIN;

REVOKE DATABASE ROLE SNOWFLAKE.COPILOT_USER
  FROM ROLE PUBLIC;

REVOKE DATABASE ROLE SNOWFLAKE.CORTEX_USER
  FROM ROLE PUBLIC;

You can then grant access as needed. For information about limiting access to Snowflake Copilot, see Limit access to Copilot.

Supported use cases¶

• Explore your data by asking open-ended questions to learn about the structure and nuances of a new dataset.

• Generate SQL queries with questions in natural language.

• Improve your queries by asking Snowflake Copilot to help you assess query efficiency, find optimizations, or explain what the query does.

• Fix syntax errors by asking Snowflake Copilot to fix your query.

Limitations¶

Snowflake Copilot inline has the following limitations:

• Support for the following languages:

  • English

  • French

  • German

  • Spanish

  • Italian

  • Portuguese

  • Arabic

  • Hindi

  • Chinese

  • Japanese

  • Korean

  • SQL

No access to your data

Snowflake Copilot does not have access to the data inside your tables. If you want to filter on a particular value of a column, you should provide that value. For example, if you ask Snowflake Copilot to return all rows with a column A value equal to “X”, you should provide the value “X” in your request. For more information, see the Construct and run a SQL Statement example.

Delayed response

Snowflake Copilot might take a second to complete a response, depending on the length of the response provided.

SQL suggestions may not always work

Snowflake Copilot may sometimes suggest queries that contain invalid SQL syntax or non-existent tables or columns.

Delay in detecting new databases, schemas, and tables

It may take up to 3-4 hours for Snowflake Copilot to recognize newly created databases, schemas, and tables.

Limited number of tables and columns considered

To generate a response, Snowflake Copilot first searches for tables and columns most relevant for your request. The search results are then ranked by relevancy and only the top 10 tables and top 10 columns from each of those tables in the results are considered when generating a response.

Snowflake Copilot inline does not support feedback

You cannot upvote or downvote the suggestions that Snowflake Copilot inline gives you.

How to use Snowflake Copilot inline¶

Snowflake Copilot inline requires no additional setup. Remember the following points when using Snowflake Copilot:

• Each session with Snowflake Copilot inline is associated with a particular file in your Workspace.

• You don’t need to have a database and schema in use during your session to use Snowflake Copilot inline.

• Snowflake Copilot uses the names of your databases, schemas, tables, and columns and also the data types of your columns to determine what data is available to query.

• For optimal performance, use meaningful names for databases, schemas, tables, and columns, and ensure that columns are assigned the appropriate data type.

• Snowflake Copilot inline considers the following sources, but does not store the data from them:

  • Contents of the current file, including SQL queries and code.

  • Context of the current file, including database, schema, and role.

  • User supplied input.

  • Snowflake documentation or general SQL knowledge.

  • Data from your account.

To begin using Snowflake Copilot inline:

1. Open a Workspace. For information about Workspaces, see Workspaces.

2. Enter the CMD+I shortcut.

3. In the message dialog, enter your request. Then click the send icon to submit it. Snowflake Copilot provides a response inline and shows a diff with the existing code.

4. Choose one of the following:

   • Select Accept to accept the suggested changes.

   • Select Reject to reject the suggested changes.

   • Select Close to end the session.

Add custom instructions¶

Snowflake Copilot inline does not accept custom instructions to customize how it responds.

Examples¶

The following sections provide examples that demonstrate how to:

• Construct and run SQL statements

• Add comments to a SQL statement

• Fix a SQL Statement

These examples use a sample dataset from the Snowflake Marketplace.

Tips for using Snowflake Copilot¶

For tips about using Snowflake Copilot, see Tips for using Snowflake Copilot.

Costs¶

Snowflake Copilot is currently free to use. Details on pricing and billing are planned but you will be notified before any charges are applied for this feature.

Legal notices¶

This feature leverages third party models and/or services, as previously described on this page. Where the models and/or services used are provided on the Snowflake Model and Service Flowdown Terms page, use of those models and/or services are also subject to those terms.

For additional information, refer to Snowflake AI and ML.