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Beta

Genie Agent sharing via OpenSharing is currently in Beta. Enable the Genie Agent Sharing preview at the account level before use.

Sharing Genie Agents

OpenSharing lets you share a Genie Agent with users outside your organization — giving customers a working AI analyst pre-loaded with your data and domain knowledge, not just a set of tables to figure out themselves.

Think of Genie as a new analyst you're onboarding to a customer's team. The better you prepare the agent before sharing — with clear data, business definitions, and example questions — the faster customers get value from your data product. A well-built Genie share reduces time-to-first-insight from days to minutes.

When you share an agent, Databricks creates a point-in-time snapshot of its data assets, instructions, curated SQL examples, SQL functions, and configuration. Recipients mount the share in their own workspace and get a local copy of the agent, ready to query immediately. Their local agent is theirs to extend — they can add their own data and modify instructions without affecting your original.

The snapshot is permanent

The share captures the agent at the moment you click Share and does not update. You cannot modify the data assets in the share after it is created. Build and test your agent thoroughly before sharing — quality at share time is quality forever for that recipient.

Why share a Genie Agent instead of just tables?​

Traditional OpenSharing gives recipients raw data and leaves them to build their own queries. A Genie share delivers a complete analytics experience:

What you shipWhat the customer gets
Tables onlyRaw data — customer builds queries from scratch
Tables + Genie AgentPre-configured AI analyst with your domain knowledge built in

This matters for partner use cases:

  • Faster customer onboarding: Recipients start asking business questions immediately, without first understanding your schema.
  • Reduced support burden: When Genie handles "how do I query this?" your team handles fewer how-to questions.
  • Consistent answers: Business metrics, filters, and terminology are encoded in the agent — every customer gets the same definitions.
  • Showcase your data quality: A well-built agent signals the depth and reliability of your data product.

Build your agent for external customers​

Because the share is a snapshot you cannot change after the fact, the quality of your agent at share time is critical. Building for an external audience is also different from building for internal users — your customers don't have your internal context, jargon, or SQL expertise.

Start focused​

Keep the scope tight, especially for your first share. Aim for five or fewer tables covering the most valuable questions your customers will ask. A focused agent is easier to test, easier to debug, and stays within the 256 KB compressed size limit.

Write for someone who doesn't know your data​

Your customers are not your internal data team. They don't know your column naming conventions, your business definitions, or your schema history. Before sharing:

  • Add table and column descriptions in Unity Catalog — Genie reads these to understand what each field represents. This is the single highest-leverage thing you can do for accuracy.
  • Add synonyms for terms your customers use that differ from your internal naming (e.g., a customer calls it "account" but your column is org_id). Synonyms are scoped to the agent and don't modify Unity Catalog.
  • Hide confusing columns that are irrelevant to the customer's use case. Fewer columns means fewer wrong answers.
  • Define your metrics in SQL expressions, not plain text instructions. SQL expressions for terms like active_customers, monthly_revenue, or churn_rate are more reliable than asking Genie to interpret a text definition.

Teach Genie with example questions​

Example SQL queries are the best way to show Genie how to handle the questions your customers will actually ask. For each common question type — especially multi-step or ambiguous ones — provide a complete SQL example. Genie will match similar questions to your verified queries rather than generating from scratch.

Think about:

  • The 3–5 questions every new customer asks first
  • Questions that require joining multiple tables
  • Questions where your business terminology could be misinterpreted

Write a short onboarding instruction​

A brief set of text instructions helps orient customers when they first open the agent. Keep it short — too many instructions reduce effectiveness. Consider including:

  • What data the agent covers and what time range it spans
  • What questions it's designed to answer (and what it isn't)
  • Any key caveats about data freshness or known limitations

For example:

This agent covers your company's OpenSharing usage data, updated daily. Ask questions about active recipients, share volumes, and data freshness. It does not cover billing or user activity outside of sharing.

Test before you share​

Because the share is a snapshot, test thoroughly before clicking Share. Try questions as if you were a customer seeing your data for the first time:

  1. Ask the questions you expect customers to ask first
  2. Check the SQL Genie generates — confirm it matches your definitions
  3. Have someone unfamiliar with your data try it (simulates the customer experience)
  4. Verify your business metrics return the values you expect

Requirements​

Provider requirements​

To share a Genie Agent, you need:

  • Genie Agent Sharing preview enabled at the account level. See Manage Databricks previews.
  • OpenSharing set up for your account
  • CREATE SHARE privilege on the Unity Catalog metastore where the agent's data is registered
  • CAN EDIT or higher on the Genie Agent
  • SELECT on all data assets in the agent — you must retain this privilege. If you lose it, recipients cannot access the shared data.
  • At least one recipient configured. See Recipients.

Recipient requirements​

To mount a shared Genie Agent, recipients need:

  • USE PROVIDER privilege on their Unity Catalog metastore, or ownership of the provider object
  • CREATE CATALOG privilege on their Unity Catalog metastore
  • Access to a pro or serverless SQL warehouse

How to share a Genie Agent​

  1. In your Databricks workspace, open the Genie Agent you want to share.
  2. In the upper-right corner, click Share, then click the External tab.
  3. In the Select recipients field, search for and select the recipients you want to share with. If no recipients exist yet, click Create new recipient.
  4. Click Share.

Databricks creates a share containing all of the agent's tables, instructions, curated SQL examples, SQL functions, and configuration. The snapshot is captured at the time you click Share.

Adding recipients after the initial share​

You can grant access to additional recipients at any time without creating a new share:

  1. Return to the Genie Agent and click Share → External tab.
  2. Search for and select the additional recipients, then click Add recipients.
note

You cannot modify the data assets in a share after it is created. The snapshot is fixed at the time of sharing.

How recipients mount the share​

Once you've shared the agent, recipients follow these steps in their own workspace:

  1. Click Catalog, then click the gear icon and select OpenSharing.
  2. Find and select you as the provider.
  3. Locate the share containing the Genie Agent and click Mount as Genie agent.
  4. Optionally expand Advanced options to customize the catalog name, SQL warehouse, and workspace folder.
  5. Click Mount.

Databricks mounts the shared data to the recipient's Unity Catalog metastore and creates a local Genie Agent. All table references in the instructions and SQL examples are automatically rewritten to point to the mounted catalog.

The recipient has full ownership of their local agent — they can add their own tables, edit instructions, and share the agent internally. The provider's tables are read-only.

Viewing and managing shares​

Your shared Genie Agents appear in the Shared by me list. The share's asset list is read-only — you can manage recipients and delete the share, but cannot add or remove data assets after creation. See Manage shares for OpenSharing.

Limitations​

LimitationDetail
Snapshot onlyThe share captures the agent at share time and does not update when you change the agent. All recipients see the same snapshot.
Size limitThe agent configuration must be under 256 KB compressed. Shorten instructions or descriptions, or reduce the number of tables, to reduce size.
No re-sharingRecipients cannot re-share the mounted agent externally via OpenSharing.

What's next​