Aliases
Aliases are the bridge between how your team talks about data and how your database actually stores it. Think of it as how Teela learns and understands your business's vocabulary. When a user asks about "revenue," Teela needs to know that means the total_sales_amount column. That's what aliases do.
Why Aliases Matter
Your team speaks in business language. Your database speaks in technical language. Aliases connect the two.
Without aliases, a question like "Show me revenue by quarter" might fail because Teela doesn't know that "revenue" maps to total_sales_amount in the orders table. With an alias in place, Teela makes the translation seamlessly.
Common Alias Examples
| Business Term | Maps To |
|---|---|
| Revenue | orders.total_sales_amount |
| ACV | contracts.annual_contract_value |
| Customer | clients table |
| Rep | sales_representatives table |
| Close date | opportunities.date_closed |
| Headcount | employees table (count of active rows) |
Creating Aliases
To create an alias in the Alias Manager:
- Navigate to Training > Aliases in the Admin portal. Note, only Client Admins and Owners can see the Admin portal.
- Click Add Alias.
- Enter the business term. The word or phrase your team uses e.g., "revenue").
- Select the target the database table or column the term maps to (e.g.,
orders.total_sales_amount). - Optionally add a description to clarify the mapping for other admins.
- Click Save.
The alias takes effect immediately. Teela will start using it the next time someone asks a question involving that term.
Editing and Deleting Aliases
Editing
- Find the alias in the Alias Manager.
- Click the alias to open it.
- Update the business term, target, or description.
- Click Save.
Deleting
- Find the alias in the Alias Manager.
- Click the Delete button.
- Confirm the deletion.
Deleting an alias means Teela will no longer make that translation. If users are relying on that term, they may start getting less accurate results.
Viewing Usage Statistics
Each alias in the Alias Manager shows usage data:
- Times used: How often Teela has applied this alias when generating queries
- Last used: When the alias was last triggered
This helps you understand which aliases are most valuable and which might be outdated. Low-usage aliases aren't necessarily bad: they might cover edge cases that are still important. But an alias that's never been used might be worth reviewing.
Orphaned Alias Warnings
When your database schema changes (i.e. tables are renamed, columns are dropped, or connections are updated) some aliases may point to targets that no longer exist. These are called orphaned aliases.
Teela flags orphaned aliases with a warning indicator in the Alias Manager. Orphaned aliases can't be used in queries and should be updated or removed.
Bulk Cleanup
If a schema change affects many aliases at once, the Alias Manager provides a Bulk Cleanup tool:
- Click Review Orphaned Aliases at the top of the Alias Manager.
- Review each orphaned alias and either remap it to a new target or delete it.
- Click Apply Changes when done.
Conflict Detection
Teela prevents you from mapping the same business term to different tables. This avoids ambiguity when Teela generates queries.
For example, if "revenue" is already mapped to orders.total_sales_amount, you can't create a second alias mapping "revenue" to invoices.amount. Instead, you'd need to:
- Update the existing alias to point to the correct target, or
- Use a more specific term for the second mapping (e.g., "invoiced revenue" for
invoices.amount)
If you need a single term to pull from multiple sources, consider adding a SQL example instead. See Training the AI for details.
Extraction
During the initial data extraction, and when you run the Vocabulary Wizard, Teela automatically creates aliases for your company. For example, in the Wizard, if you tell Teela that your team calls customers "clients," it creates an alias mapping "client" to the appropriate table.
We highly recommend that you do a quick once-over to look at these automatically generated aliases just to make sure everything lines up the way you expect it to.
Knowledge Gap Dashboard
The Knowledge Gap Dashboard shows terms and phrases that users are asking about but Teela can't resolve. This is one of the best sources for new alias ideas.
From the Knowledge Gap Dashboard, you can:
- See the unmapped term and how often it's been searched.
- Click Create Alias to jump directly to the Alias Manager with the term pre-filled.
- Map it to the correct table or column and save.
Making a habit of reviewing the Knowledge Gap Dashboard regularly ensures Teela stays aligned with how your team actually talks about data.
Nicknames (i.e. Your Personal Aliases)
In addition to the organization-wide aliases you manage, individual users can add their own nicknames to their Personal Connections. These work just like aliases but are:
- Private: Only visible to the user who created them
- Independent: They only affect Personal Connections, not those available to the team.
You can access Nicknames by clicking on the Connections icon in the bottom menu.
Tips for Effective Alias Management
- Review Knowledge Gaps regularly. This is the fastest way to find terms that need aliases. Even a weekly check can make a big difference.
- Use common business terminology. Create aliases for the terms people actually say in meetings and emails, not just formal report titles.
- Keep aliases up to date. When your database schema changes, review your aliases for orphans and outdated mappings.
- Be specific when needed. If your team uses "revenue" to mean different things in different contexts, create specific aliases like "gross revenue" and "net revenue" rather than a single ambiguous mapping.
- Coordinate with your team. Ask power users what terms they wish Teela understood. Their input is invaluable.
Related Pages
- Training the AI: Full training toolkit including documentation, SQL examples, and the Vocabulary Wizard
- Data Dictionary: Review table and column descriptions that complement your aliases