Getting started with Felt AI

AI-native GIS is finally here

This feature is only available to customers on the Enterprise plan. To upgrade, contact sales.

Felt AI is your built-in team of spatial engineers that work at the speed of conversation. What used to take weeks or months of development work now happens in minutes through natural language prompts—empowering both technical and non-technical teams to deliver spatial solutions faster than ever.

Felt's AI-powered feature set includes three features ready to tackle any challenge:

• AI SQL queries translate questions into SQL, unlocking database insights and creating live-updating layers that keep your entire organization informed

• AI popups build interactive popup experiences that turn every map click into insight-rich displays, with professional styling and brand customization

• AI extensions create custom applications instantly, converting ideas into purpose-built tools that previously required dedicated developers

Each feature handles the technical complexity while you focus on the spatial insights and decisions that matter.

AI SQL queries

Felt's AI SQL feature helps you run advanced spatial analysis on your database connections—no SQL expertise required.

What it does: Translates natural language questions into SQL queries that work with your PostGIS, Snowflake, Databricks, Microsoft SQL Server, Redshift, and BigQuery databases.

How to use it:

1. Open your map and go to Library in the toolbar

2. Select your database source connection

3. Click + New SQL query option

4. Type your spatial question in natural language (e.g., "Find all stores within 5 miles of competitors and enrich with census demographics")

5. Watch as Felt AI generates the SQL query, displays the results in a table, and offers to create a layer on your map

What you can do:

• Ask complex spatial analysis questions without writing code

• Query massive datasets through conversation

• Create live-updating layers that reflect your database in real-time

• Build on teammates' queries and iterate together

• Explore attribute data through natural language

Custom AI popups

Create rich, interactive popups that transform every map click into a professional, branded experience. No coding knowledge required: describe what you want to see, and Felt's AI handles the popup implementation.

What it does: Generates custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to display feature information with charts, graphs, expandable sections, and your brand styling—all from a simple description.

How to use it:

1. Open your map and go to App Development

2. Select Custom popup from the dropdown

3. Select the layer you want to style popups for

4. Describe your vision in the prompt area (e.g., "Create a retail analytics popup with dynamic charts that show store performance insights using revenue and demographics")

5. Review the generated code and preview the result

6. Click Save to save your custom popup to the layer

What you can do:

• Create interactive charts and visualizations from your feature data

• Add expandable sections to organize complex information

• Apply your brand colors, logos, and styling automatically

• Test ideas and iterate designs through conversation

• Turn customization into a creative session, not a development project

Custom AI extensions

Transform ideas into complete spatial applications with custom panels, controls, and interactive workflows using Felt's JavaScript SDK and Felt's UI components. When you share your map, you're sharing your custom application.

What it does: Builds purpose-built applications tailored to your specific use case—complete with user interface elements, data filtering, analysis tools, and export functionality.

How to use it:

1. Open your map and go to App Development

2. Select Custom extension

3. Describe the functionality you want in the prompt area (e.g., "Add controls to filter stores by state and summarize their performance in a panel with the option to download the data")

4. Test your extension code in the preview

5. Click Save when you want to publish the application to the map

What you can do:

• Build interactive control panels with filters and buttons

• Create custom analysis tools specific to your workflow

• Add data summary views and export capabilities

• Develop complete applications between meetings

• Share production-ready tools—no servers, no deployments, no infrastructure required

Putting it all together

The real power of Felt AI comes from combining all three features to build complete spatial solutions:

1. Query your data with the Felt SQL writer

2. Design rich popup interactions with the Felt popup generator

3. Build custom map tools and apps with the Felt extension tool

Three specialist tools, three conversations, one complete spatial application—built in minutes instead of months.

What our users are building

Here are some real examples from Felt users:

• Airport operators filtering obstacle data and determining height restrictions with custom widgets that give simple answers to complex spatial queries

• Property developers creating location assessment tools that consolidate 3-4 different software products into a single Felt application

• Teams running retail performance analysis with interactive popups showing revenue trends and demographic insights

• Organizations querying massive datasets to identify locations meeting multiple spatial criteria

Get started

Ready to build your first spatial solution with Felt AI?

1. Open any map in Felt

2. Choose your starting point:

   1. AI SQL for data queries

   2. AI Popups for interactions

   3. Extensions for custom applications

3. Start the conversation—just describe what you want to create

4. Iterate and refine through natural language

Frequently asked questions

Who can access Felt AI features?

Felt AI (including AI SQL queries, Custom AI Popups, and Custom Extensions) is available to admins and editors on the Enterprise plan. To upgrade, contact sales.

What databases work with AI SQL queries?

Felt AI SQL works with PostGIS, Snowflake, Databricks, Microsoft SQL Server, Redshift, and BigQuery databases. Simply connect your database as a source and start asking questions in plain English.

How do I edit or iterate on something I've already created?

You can always return to edit your work. For custom popups, click "Edit..." in the Content row. For custom extensions, access them through the Extensions panel. For SQL queries, reopen the query from your data source. You can also use additional AI prompts to refine and iterate.

What happens to my data and queries?

Everything runs securely within Felt. SQL queries execute against your cloud database and can be set to live sync at your preferred frequency (or turned off entirely). All generated code runs on Felt's infrastructure with no additional servers or deployment required.

Do I need coding experience to use Felt AI?

No coding experience is required. You describe what you want in natural language, and Felt AI generates the necessary code (SQL, HTML/CSS/JavaScript, or JS SDK code) for you. However, you can modify the generated code directly if you prefer.

Can I preview my work before publishing?

Yes. Custom popups offer desktop and mobile preview modes. Custom extensions show a live preview in a split view as you build. AI SQL queries run automatic previews so you can review results before creating a layer.