Looker API: what you can do and how to use it with AI agents
The Looker API lets you run queries on the semantic model (LookML), run Looks and dashboards, and manage schedules, users and content. Data teams that keep governed metrics in Looker, now part of Google Cloud, use it. Access is with API credentials for a user on the instance.
What the Looker API offers
Model queries
Run queries using the explores and fields defined in LookML.
Looks and dashboards
Run and export saved visualizations.
Schedules
Scheduled report deliveries.
Users and permissions
Manage users, groups and roles.
Content
Folders and organization of Looks and dashboards.
How to access the Looker API
- With your company’s credentialsUses an API client ID and client secret tied to a Looker user, exchanged for an access token. Permissions follow that user's role.
- The API user's permissions define what the agent sees.
- Heavy queries load the database: set limits.
- Note the difference between Looker and Looker Studio, which have different access.
Official documentation: cloud.google.com/looker/docs/api-intro
What an iTeam agent does with the Looker API
Official metric in chat
A manager asks for the week's revenue, and the agent queries the official explore and answers with the number and the filters.
Variance explained by dimension
The agent breaks the variance down by region, channel or product using the model's fields.
Report for people who do not use Looker
The agent runs the agreed dashboards and sends a text summary.
Content cleanup
The agent lists dashboards nobody has opened in months so the data team can archive them.
From the credential to the agent at work, with approval
Create the API user
In Looker, create a service user with a role limited to the models needed and generate the API credentials.
Store it in the iTeam vault
Add the credentials and the instance URL to the vault, with access per agent.
Validate with the data team
Define the permitted explores and compare the answers with the official dashboards.
Ready-made AI teams for this work
Management reporting team
Revenue, margin, pipeline and cash in one report, built from your systems, with a short note on what changed and why.
Data analysis team
Ask which customers stopped buying or which region lost margin. The team writes the SQL, runs it and explains the result.
IT service desk team
Password resets, access requests and how-to questions handled in chat, with Jira updated and approvals in place.
Questions about the Looker API
Is the Looker API free?
The API is part of Looker with no separate charge, but it depends on the instance's license.
Do I need to write code to use the Looker API with iTeam?
Not necessarily. The deployment team configures the permitted explores, and the agent queries the model your data team already maintains.
Does the API work for Looker Studio?
No. Looker Studio is a different product with a different kind of access.
