xtrareports-405559-ai-powered-functionality-visual-studio-report-designer-ai-powered-report-generation.md
AI-powered Report Generation allows you to create report layouts directly within the Visual Studio Report Designer. With the DevExpress AI-powered Assistant, you can connect to Azure OpenAI or OpenAI services and automatically generate reports based on natural language prompts.
The DevExpress Unified Component Installer installs the AI-powered Assistant extension for Visual Studio.
Go to Tools → Options → DevExpress → AI Assistant to open AI Assistant options.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
Endpoint URL | The service endpoint used to connect to Azure OpenAI. For OpenAI connections, this option must be empty. |
API Key | A personal access key required to authenticate requests to the AI service. |
Model Name | The identifier of the AI model (for example, gpt-4o-mini). |
Enable Logging | If enabled, the extension records request and response details for diagnostic purposes. Logs are stored in the following folder: C:\Documents and Settings<UserName>\AppData\Local\DevExpress\AI_Assistant_VSIX |
Enable Prompt Caching | If enabled, previously used prompts and responses are cached to improve performance and reduce repeated requests. |
Warning
Some OpenAI models (for example, GPT-5, o1, and o3 series) do not support the Temperature parameter. To avoid runtime exceptions when targeting these models, set the Temperature to 1. The value is ignored by the service, but this setting prevents validation/compatibility errors.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
Fix Layout Errors | When enabled, the AI automatically attempts to correct layout issues (for example, misaligned controls or overlapping elements) in the generated report. |
Retry Attempt Count | Specifies how many times the AI should retry report generation if the initial attempt fails. |
Temperature | Controls randomness in AI output and produces more deterministic results. Higher values increase variation. The default value is 0. |
Add a DevExpress Report item or open the Report Wizard for an existing report using the report’s smart tag menu. In the Report Wizard, select AI Prompt-to-Report and click Next.
No Data SourceCreates a complete report structure based only on the user’s natural language description.Add Data SourceCreates and configures a report data source, and automatically includes this metadata in the LLM prompt.
Enter a prompt or choose a predefined prompt and modify it as needed. Then click Finish.
Tip
Output quality depends on the detail level in your prompt. Specify layout preferences, calculations, grouping, and visualization types. As with other LLM-based systems, results may require adjustments.
Use the Temperature setting to control output randomness and RetryAttemptCount to specify how many times the system tries to fix layout errors in the LLM response.
Possible CauseThe DevExpress AI-powered Assistant for Visual Studio extension is disabled.SolutionOpen the Extension Manager in Visual Studio ( Extensions → Manage Extensions… ). Switch to the Installed tab and enable the DevExpress AI-powered Assistant for Visual Studio extension. Restart Visual Studio.
Possible CauseSome OpenAI models (for example, GPT-5, o1, and o3 series) do not support the Temperature parameter.SolutionOpen AI Assistant Options and check Model Name and Temperature settings. If the selected model does not accept the Temperature, set the Temperature to 1 to avoid errors, or switch to a supported model (for example, gpt-4o-mini).
Possible CauseThe specified model deployment does not exist. This may happen if the deployment name is incorrect, if the deployment was recently created and is not yet active, or if it was deleted.SolutionOpen AI Assistant Options and check the Model Name setting.
See Also