AI Data Analyst Chatbot vs Loam

AI Data Analyst Chatbot is free, MIT-licensed software for self-hosted web use. It lets analysts and data practitioners explore structured datasets by asking questions in plain English, without SQL or extensive coding knowledge. Users upload CSV or Excel (XLSX) files, which are processed during the session and not permanently stored. Automated profiling covers columns, distributions, summary statistics, missing values, duplicates, and data-quality issues. Statistical analysis can surface variation, outliers, correlations, and patterns, and suggest statistical tests. Interactive visualizations accompany explanations and statistical insights. The project lists Streamlit, pandas, NumPy, SciPy, Plotly, LangChain, and Groq LLM (LLaMA 3.1). Running the app requires a Groq API key in the GROQ_API_KEY environment variable; the README directs users to install dependencies and launch Streamlit at localhost:8501. There are no SQL connections or team-collaboration features. Contributions are invited through forks, pull requests, or issues.

Loam stores supported files and connected business data so authorized AI tools can query it and ground answers in rows. It accepts formats including CSV, Excel, Parquet, TSV, and JSON, and connects to tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Cursor through an MCP-compatible setup. The service is aimed at teams without a dedicated data team, including sales and marketing groups and company founders. Queries use the connected Loam account’s current access, and table permissions are checked when each request runs. Users can limit an AI’s access to selected data, such as allowing revenue while excluding payroll. Loam says uploaded and connected data is not used to train AI models and can be deleted by users; providers such as Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic process data to generate results and do not use it to train their models. The web upload interface accepts files up to 100 MB. The free Individual plan supports one person, file uploads, grounded questions, and supported AI connections. Individual Pro costs $399 a year, with a 39 USD monthly option; Team costs $499 a year, with a two-seat minimum and a 49 USD per-seat monthly option. The terms prohibit storing protected health information, primary cardholder information, or other sensitive information.