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Writing Good Queries

Getting great answers from Teela starts with how you ask the question. The good news? You don't need to know anything about databases or SQL. Just ask in plain English, and Teela takes care of the rest. That said, a few simple habits can make a big difference in the quality of your results.

Be Specific About What You Want​

The more clearly you describe what you're looking for, the better Teela can help. Instead of using vague terms, name the exact thing you're interested in.

Instead of this...Try this
"Show me the numbers""Show me total revenue by region"
"How are we doing?""What's our customer retention rate this quarter?"
"What about that report?""Show me the monthly sales report for the West region"
"Give me some data""How many new customers signed up last month?"

The key is to be direct. Think about what you'd tell a helpful colleague if they asked, "What exactly do you need?"

Mention Time Periods​

Teela works best when you're clear about the timeframe you're interested in. If you leave it out, Teela will do its best to pick a reasonable default, but it's always better to say it yourself.

Good examples:

  • "Show me orders from last month"
  • "What was our revenue in Q1 2025?"
  • "How many support tickets were opened this week?"
  • "Compare sales between January and March"

Use Your Team's Terminology​

Your Teela admin has set up your system to understand the specific terms your team uses. So go ahead and use the language that feels natural to you. If your team calls something "ARR" or "churn rate" or "MQLs," Teela likely knows what you mean.

If Teela doesn't recognize a term, you have two options:

  • Rephrase using a more common term
  • Add it to your personal vocabulary (more on that below)

Start Simple, Then Refine​

You don't have to get your question perfect on the first try. In fact, one of the best ways to work with Teela is to start with a broad question and then follow up to narrow things down.

For example:

  1. "Show me all orders from last month"
  2. "Now filter that to just the West region"
  3. "What's the total revenue from those?"
  4. "Break it down by product category"

Each follow-up builds on the previous answer, so you can explore your data step by step. Learn more about this in Getting More From Your Questions.

Ask for the Format You Want​

Teela can present your results in different ways. If you have a preference, just say so:

  • "Show me a bar chart of monthly revenue"
  • "Give me a table of customers by region"
  • "Show a line chart of weekly signups over the past year"
  • "List the top 10 products by sales"

Use Exact Values When Filtering​

When you want to filter your data, using the exact values that exist in your database gets the best results. Your admin may have set up aliases to help with this, but when you can, be precise:

  • "Show me orders where status is Active"
  • "Filter to region is West"
  • "Only include customers in the Enterprise tier"

If you're not sure what values are available, try asking something like "What are the different order statuses?" or "What regions do we have?"

Discover What's Possible With Question Suggestions​

Not sure what to ask? Teela offers question suggestions that show you the kinds of things you can explore. These suggestions are based on your actual data, so they're a great way to discover what's available and get inspired.

When Results Aren't Quite Right​

Sometimes Teela's answer might not be exactly what you expected. Here's what to do:

  1. Give feedback. Use the thumbs down button to let Teela know the result wasn't right. This helps improve future answers.
  2. Try rephrasing. Sometimes a slightly different wording gets you exactly what you need.
  3. Use the "Help Me Get an Answer" button. When a query doesn't work, this button suggests alternative ways to phrase your question. It's a great way to find the right wording without guessing.
  4. Tell Teela it looks wrong. You can say something like "that doesn't look right" and Teela will investigate what might have gone wrong. See Getting More From Your Questions for more on data reasoning.

And of course, don't forget the thumbs up button when Teela nails it! Positive feedback helps just as much.

Add Your Own Terms With Personal Vocabulary​

If you regularly use a term that Teela doesn't recognize, you can add it to your personal vocabulary. This creates a mapping between your term and what it means in the data, so Teela understands you next time.

For example, if you always say "close rate" but the data calls it "conversion_percentage," you can teach Teela that connection. Personal vocabulary is just for you and won't affect other users.

Keep Learning​

Now that you know the basics of writing good queries, here are some next steps: