IBM Cognos Analytics 12.2.0: the new features worth knowing about

by· Sasha Maybury

IBM Cognos Analytics 12.2.0 is here, and there’s A LOT in it. We’ve been through the release notes so you don’t have to. 

There are around 20 new features and improvements in this release. Some are aimed at admins and developers, but three stood out to us as the ones that will make a real difference to your day-to-day work in Cognos Analytics. Here’s what they are, and why we think you’ll like them. 

1. Create a report by having a chat

The Report Authoring Agent can now build a complete report from a conversation. 

You describe the report you want in one message, and the agent gets to work. It creates the data objects, arranges the layout, applies the formatting and sets up the filters, one step after another. Before it builds anything, it checks it has understood you, so you can confirm or correct it first. 

Then you keep chatting to refine it. Ask it to change a chart, add a filter or tidy up the layout, and it makes the change. After each step it suggests what you might want to do next. 

For report authors, that means less time clicking through menus and more time on the analysis. For newer Cognos Analytics users, it’s a much gentler way in. 

2. Export dashboards straight to Microsoft PowerPoint or Markdown

If you’ve ever screenshotted a dashboard, pasted it into a slide and then lined it all up by hand, this one’s for you. 

You can now export a Cognos Analytics dashboard straight to Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) from the Share menu. It works whether you’re viewing the dashboard or editing it. That makes board packs, monthly reviews and team meetings much quicker to pull together. 

There’s also a new option to export a dashboard to Markdown, which is handy if you share content in tools that use it. 

3. Framework Manager is now 64-bit

This one’s for the modellers. Framework Manager is now a native 64-bit application. 

In practice, that means better memory management and better performance when you’re working with large data models. If you’ve ever had Framework Manager slow down or struggle with a big model, you’ll notice the difference. 

Best of all, it’s fully backward compatible with your existing deployments and model files, so you don’t need to rebuild anything. 

A few more worth knowing about 

• Query Agent. Ask questions about your data in plain English and get answers back with charts, key insights and suggested follow-up questions. It works with data modules. 

• Burst key in emails and filenames. If you burst reports out to regions or departments, the burst key can now go in the email subject and the attachment name, so recipients know what they’ve got before they open it. 

• Cell value bars in tables and crosstabs. Small bars inside the cells make it easier to compare numbers at a glance. 

• Conversation history for the agentic AI Assistant. Your chats are saved, so you can pick up where you left off, pin important threads and search old ones. 

Using the MongoDB BI Connector? It reached its End of Life phase in September 2026, and Cognos Analytics now supports the MongoDB Atlas SQL connector instead. It’s worth planning the switch now. 

You can read the full list in IBM’s 12.2.0 release notes. 

Thinking about upgrading? 

We’re IBM Cognos Analytics specialists, and we can talk you through what 12.2.0 means for your setup, which features you’ll get the most from, and what you’d need in place to start using the new AI features. 

Get in touch and we’ll take it from there.