# Explore

Explore is a quick way to explore data in your semantic layer either by point and click or with an AI agent. Unlike workbooks, Explore doesn't require you to create a workbook—you can start exploring immediately from dashboard, analytics chat or any semantic view.

Explore state is saved to the URL, making it easy to share your exploration with another user. When you're ready to build a more permanent analysis, you can convert your exploration to a [workbook](/product/exploration/workbooks).

Explore leverages your data model definitions, ensuring that all queries use consistent metrics, respect access control policies, and benefit from pre-aggregations for fast performance.

## Using Explore

You can start exploring from three places in Cube:

### Exploring from Analytics Chat

When the AI agent returns a query result in Analytics Chat, click **Explore** to open that result in an exploration. This allows you to further analyze and visualize the data returned by the AI agent.

<ProductVideo src="https://lgo0ecceic.ucarecd.net/edf19a6e-76ac-4b90-be9a-53fa68b0f704/" />

### Exploring from a published dashboard

Hover over a chart widget in a published dashboard, and click **Explore**. The exploration will use the same view and data that feeds into the visualization, giving you access to all measures and dimensions available in that view.

<Screenshot src="https://lgo0ecceic.ucarecd.net/86a9cd5e-28a4-4306-9b23-64c279384aad/"/>

### Starting a new exploration from scratch

Navigate to the **Explore** page in the sidebar. From here, you can select any semantic view as the data source and start building visualizations from scratch.


## Explore functionality

The functionality in Explore is similar to when working with semantic views in workbooks. You can build visualizations, pivot tables, and tables by selecting measures and dimensions from your semantic views, apply filters, group and aggregate data.

Explore state is saved in the URL, making it easy to share your exploration with other users by simply copying and sharing the URL. When you're ready to build a more permanent analysis, you can [convert your exploration to a workbook](/product/exploration/workbooks).
