When to Use AI Assistant vs. Data Dictionary
Overview
Our Salesforce toolset includes two complementary features designed for different use cases:
AI Assistant: Best for targeted questions, troubleshooting, and code recommendations
Data Dictionary: Best for browsing, exploring, and retrieving comprehensive metadata lists
Understanding when to use each tool will help you get faster, more accurate results.
Use AI Assistant For
The AI Assistant excels at answering specific questions and providing contextual guidance:
Troubleshooting specific errors or issues ("Why is this trigger failing on Contact updates?")
Understanding how particular components work ("How does the OpportunityLineItem trigger calculate discounts?")
Getting code recommendations ("How should I optimize this SOQL query?")
Analyzing specific flows, processes, or automations ("Tell me about how Flow X handles case escalation logic?")
Best practice guidance ("What's the best way to implement this validation rule?")
Comparing a small number of specific objects or fields ("What's the difference between Account.Type and Account.Industry?")
Use Data Dictionary For
The Data Dictionary is your comprehensive metadata browser, ideal for:
Viewing all metadata of a particular type ("viewing all Apex Classes ")
Exploring complete object schemas ("What are all the fields on the Account object?")
Browsing validation rules, workflow rules, or flows across the org
Getting comprehensive lists of custom objects, fields, or components
Reviewing metadata details, relationships, and dependencies at scale (“All the flows that touch the Opportunity Stage field)
Why This Matters
When you ask the AI Assistant for broad inventory questions like "give me all Apex classes in the org" or "list every custom field on Account," the response can be:
Incomplete (the response may be truncated due to length)
Slow to generate
Difficult to parse in a chat format
Less actionable than using a dedicated browsing tool
The Data Dictionary is specifically designed to handle these comprehensive queries efficiently, with features like filtering, sorting, and detailed views.
Quick Decision Guide
Ask yourself: Am I trying to...
Understand or fix something specific? → Use AI Assistant
Browse or retrieve a complete list? → Use Data Dictionary
Get recommendations about particular code? → Use AI Assistant
See all metadata of a certain type? → Use Data Dictionary
Troubleshoot an error or behavior? → Use AI Assistant
Analyze metadata in bulk? → Use Data Dictionary
Examples
Good AI Assistant Questions ✓
"Why is my Account trigger throwing a null pointer exception?"
"How can I improve the performance of this Apex class?"
"What does the Lead Assignment flow do when Source equals 'Web'?"
"Is there a better way to structure this validation rule?"
Questions Better Suited for Data Dictionary ✗
"Give me all Apex classes in the org"
"List every validation rule"
"Show me all custom fields on Account"
"What are all the flows in the org?"
For these broad queries, navigate to the Data Dictionary feature to browse, filter, and explore your org's metadata efficiently.
Leveraging Data Dictionary and AI Assistant Together
When investigating more complex issues, using the Data Dictionary and the AI Assistant together can be a powerful combination.
For example, imagine you need to understand all of the flows, Apex classes, and workflow rules that touch the Case object. Depending on the size of your org, there may be hundreds of related components. Asking the AI Assistant a broad question like “Describe all the flows, Apex classes, and workflow rules that touch the Case object” is simply too much to process at once.
Instead, break the project into discrete steps:
Start with Flows.
Filter to Flows, click into each one, and review the documentation generated by Swantide—paying attention to references to subflows, Apex classes, or other dependencies.
Use the AI Assistant for targeted follow-ups.
Ask focused questions such as:
• “Are there any other flows that perform similar functionality to Flow X?”
• “How does this flow handle case escalations?”
Repeat for other metadata types or objects.
Apply the same structured approach as you move through Apex classes, workflow rules, or any other relevant components.
While this process involves multiple prompts, Swantide customers consistently see dramatic time savings compared to attempting the same analysis manually.
What if I need an exhaustive list filtered by something other than metadata component type?
Swantide customers frequently ask for this type of analysis. Common examples include:
Show me all of the flows that update Opportunity.StageName.
Show me only the active validation rules on a certain object.
Flag all Apex classes that have security concerns and rewrite them to mitigate.
Swantide can absolutely help with these kinds of questions.
As with the approach outlined above, the most effective workflow is:
Start with the Data Dictionary.
Filter to the relevant components (for example, in the first bullet, filter to all flows that reference Opportunity.StageName).
Review each component individually or with targeted AI queries.
Open each component in a new tab, or ask the AI Assistant focused questions about them. In many cases, you can group components into a single prompt—e.g.,
“Review Flows 1, 2, 3, and 4. Do any of them update the Opportunity.StageName field? I can see the field referenced, but I want to know whether the flow actually performs an update.”
Tips for AI Assistant Users
To get the most value from the AI Assistant:
Be specific: Include object names, error messages, or code snippets when relevant
Focus on problems or questions: Rather than requests for complete inventories
Follow up with clarifying questions: The AI Assistant is designed for iterative conversations
Reference specific components: "Tell me about the AccountTriggerHandler class" rather than "show me all classes"
When the AI Assistant detects that your question would be better answered by the Data Dictionary, it will recommend you use that feature instead.
Need help deciding which tool to use? Feel free to reach out to the Swantide team (eric@swantide.com or ryan@swantide.com). Alternatively, you can try asking the Swantide AI Assistance for guidance as well.