How AI Is Shaping the Future of Data App Development

From Charts to Chatbots and Beyond

TDS Ebook Plotly June 2025

Data doesn't stand still, and neither do the ways we engage with it.

This isn't about the end of visualization. It's about what comes after. And what comes next will be defined by a mindset rather than by any one product or platform.

AI is democratizing the ideation and concept stage of visual data apps and making it possible for non-experts to easily build applications of their own. Now, a data app begins where a traditional report leaves off. And the best data tools won’t just show us what happened; they’ll help us think through what’s possible.

In this ebook, author Anne Bonner explores how this isn't the end of engineering. It's the beginning of a more fluid, more expressive development cycle. Thanks to the support of Plotly, Anne dives into ways modern data tools can empower teams to accelerate their builds thanks to advances in AI. These systems don't replace human insight; they amplify it. Finally, more people can now create the solutions they used to wait for.

This is the very first ebook from Towards Data Science. We're so excited to share it with you! Register here to receive your copy.

What You'll Find Inside This Ebook

Table of Contents

  • Dashboards Aren't Dead – They're Evolving
  • The New Era of Data: Why Chat-to-Viz Alone Isn't Enough
  • Data Apps: Thinking with the Data
    • When the Map Isn't Enough
  • Smarter Tools, Smarter Users
    • Trust and Security
  • Vibe Coding: How AI Accelerates Development
  • Embedded Intelligence: Designing Applications That Think with You
  • Human-Centered Interfaces: Designing for Dialogue, Not Just Display
  • What You Can Do Today
    • AI-Assisted App Development
    • Custom Chatbot Integrations
    • Why This Matters: Solving the Last Mile
  • What Comes Next: The Future of AI-Enhanced Data Experiences
  • Building with Intelligence

Special thanks to the exclusive sponsor of this ebook!

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Plotly provides the world’s leading data app and visualization framework in Python, with over a billion downloads. The new Plotly Studio turns datasets into data apps in minutes with agentic analytics, helping great ideas take flight.