Date: Sunday, May 10, 2026
Hey there! I’m Chunling Niu, chair of the Data Visualization and Reporting TIG here at AEA. If you’ve been AI-curious but aren’t sure where to start when it comes to visualizing and reporting your data, this post is for you.
I talk with evaluators every week who feel caught between excitement and overwhelm when it comes to AI. Here’s what I keep telling them: you don’t need to become a data scientist. You just need to be willing to experiment, and to stay critical while you do it.
The easiest entry point? Use AI to speed up tasks you’re already doing. If you build charts in Excel or Google Sheets, try describing what you need in plain language to a tool like ChatGPT, Claude, or Microsoft Copilot. Something like, “I have survey data with five Likert-scale items across three stakeholder groups. What’s the best chart type and why?” You’ll get a solid starting point you can refine instead of staring at a blank screen.
This one’s a gamechanger for accessibility. After creating a chart, paste a screenshot into an AI tool and ask it to draft descriptive alt text. It saves real time and helps us meet accessibility standards that we all know matter but often let slide under deadline pressure. The Web Accessibility Initiative has great guidance on writing effective image descriptions for data visualizations, bookmark it.
Let me be real: AI can suggest chart types, color palettes, and even narrative summaries of your data; but it has zero understanding of your stakeholders, your context, or the political dynamics around your findings. I’ve seen AI recommend visualizations that would completely miss the mark for a community-based audience. Always gut-check: does this serve my audience, or does it just look slick? Your expertise in knowing what a finding means and who needs to hear it is irreplaceable.
Our Data Visualization and Reporting TIG is here to help you navigate all of this. Jump into our conversations, share what you’re trying, and let’s learn together.
The American Evaluation Association is hosting Data Visualization and Reporting (DVR) Week with our colleagues in the DVR Topical Interest Group. The contributions all this week to AEA365 come from DVR TIG members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this AEA365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the AEA365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an AEA365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to AEA365@eval.org. AEA365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. The views and opinions expressed on the AEA365 blog are solely those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the American Evaluation Association, and/or any/all contributors to this site.