Last Updated: September 2026
Key Takeaways
The following covers what Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central users need to know about the Tell Me feature and how to use it beyond basic navigation:
- The Business Central Tell Me feature opens with Alt+Q from anywhere in the system and searches pages, actions, reports, and company data simultaneously
- Tell Me finds results using synonyms and alternate search terms, so typing “product” returns results for “item” and typing “client” returns results for “customer”
- The Search company data function inside Tell Me searches live records across all pages in Business Central, not just page names
- Advanced Tell Me, available in Business Central Online, uses AI-powered semantic search to find results by meaning rather than exact keyword match
- Tell Me is available on the Business Central mobile app on iOS and Android, giving field teams the same navigation capability they have on desktop
Most Business Central users know the Tell Me feature exists. They’ve used it to pull up a page they couldn’t find in the menu. They type a few characters, click the result, done.
That’s only about 20% of what Tell Me actually does.
The Business Central Tell Me feature is the fastest way to navigate, find records, run reports, and now, with the AI-powered Advanced tab, search in plain language for things you can’t name exactly. Most users are leaving significant time on the table by treating it as a glorified menu search. This post covers everything Tell Me can actually do and how to start using it that way.
What Is the Business Central Tell Me Feature and How Does It Work?
When Microsoft introduced Tell Me, they described the thinking behind it simply: “Productivity increases when people can find what they need, and search is often quicker and less tedious than the repeated clicks needed to get there.” That framing still holds today.
The Business Central Tell Me feature is a search interface built into Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central that lets you find and navigate to any page, action, report, or record in the system by typing what you’re looking for. It opens from anywhere in Business Central using the keyboard shortcut Alt+Q, or by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the top-right corner of the screen. It also works on the Business Central mobile app on iOS and Android, giving field teams the same navigation capability they have on desktop.
What makes Tell Me more useful than a basic menu search is how it matches results. Tell Me doesn’t require exact terminology. It searches using synonyms and alternate terms, so if your team is newer to Business Central and types “product” instead of “item,” they get results. Type “client” and customer-related pages appear. This reduces the learning curve for new users significantly, because the system meets them at the language; they already use rather than forcing them to learn Business Central’s specific terminology first.
Results are organized into categories on the right side of the Tell Me window: pages and tasks, reports and analysis, and documentation. Each result shows you what type of record it is, so you can tell at a glance whether clicking it will open a list, run a report, or take you to a settings page.
How Do You Use Business Central Tell Me Navigation Shortcuts Effectively?
The keyboard shortcut Alt+Q is the fastest way to work in Business Central once you internalize it. You don’t need to know where anything lives in the menu structure. You just press Alt+Q, type what you need, and go.
For a full list of shortcuts and a downloadable / printable PDF, visit this CAL blog.
A few patterns that make this faster in practice:
Opening pages directly. Type the name of any page in Business Central and Tell Me will find it. “Vendor List,” “Chart of Accounts,” “Posted Sales Invoices,” “Payment Reconciliation Journal”, all of these open in two keystrokes and a short phrase, instead of clicking through menu layers to find them.
Running actions on the current page. Tell Me searches for the actions available on the page you currently have opened. The “On current page” section of Tell Me results show actions specific to where you are, which means you can trigger functions without finding the right button in the ribbon. This is especially useful on pages with long ribbons where the action you need is buried under a dropdown you don’t check often.
Accessing reports. You can use the Tell Me search function and look for “Exploring Reports” to open the Report Explorer, which gives you a full view of every report available for your role. This is a much faster path to reports than navigating through role center menus, especially for finance teams working with month-end reporting.
How Do You Search for Company Data Using Business Central Tell Me?
This is the Tell Me capability that most users don’t know exist. Tell Me doesn’t just find pages and reports. It also searches for your live company data.
When you open Tell Me and type a search term, you’ll see a “Search company data” option in the results. Selecting this runs a search across all pages in Business Central and returns matching records. Type a customer’s name, a vendor number, a partial invoice number, or an item description, and Business Central finds the matching records across your entire dataset.
Here’s the thing: this is not the same as the in-list search on a specific page. The in-list search (activated with F3) looks within whatever list you currently have opened. Tell Me’s company data search looks everywhere. If you can’t remember which module a record lives in, or if you need to pull up a specific transaction without navigating to the right page first, searching from Tell Me is faster.
The results are grouped by record type, so a search for a customer name might return results under Sales Orders, AR invoices, Contacts, and the Customer List all at once. You can click any result to open that specific record directly.
What Is Advanced Tell Me and How Does It Use AI Search?
Advanced Tell Me uses AI-powered semantic search to find results by the meaning of your search text, not exact words. You can type what you are looking for in plain, everyday language, such as short descriptive phrases or full sentences.
In practice, that means you can type “report that shows my best customers”, and Business Central finds the Customer Top 10 report, even though none of those words appear in the report’s name. Or type “where do I set up how vendors get paid” and Tell Me returns pages related to payment terms, vendor bank accounts, and payment methods, based on what you meant rather than what you typed.
Advanced Tell Me is available for Business Central Online only, not on-premises, and requires an administrator to enable Feature: Advanced Tell Me (preview) in the Feature Management page. Once enabled, it appears as a second tab in the Tell Me window. The standard keyword-matching tab remains available alongside it, so users can switch between exact-match and semantic search depending on which fits the task.
For teams that have recently moved to Business Central from Dynamics GP or another legacy system, Advanced Tell Me is worth enabling early. New users who don’t yet know Business Central’s terminology can describe what they need in their own words and find it without asking a colleague or submitting a support ticket.
NOTE: Advanced Tell Me is a preview feature as of mid-2026 and is subject to change. Check Microsoft Learn for the current feature status before enabling it in a production environment.
Frequently Asked Questions: Business Central Tell Me
What is the keyboard shortcut for Business Central Tell Me?
The keyboard shortcut for the Business Central Tell Me feature is Alt+Q. This opens Tell Me from anywhere in the system, including from within any page, list, or document. You can also click the magnifying glass icon in the upper-right corner of the Business Central interface to open the same search window.
Can Business Central Tell Me search for records, not just pages?
Yes. Tell Me includes a “Search company data” function that searches live records across all pages in Business Central, not just page and report names. Type a customer name, invoice number, vendor name, or item description in Tell Me and select “Search company data” to find matching records across your entire dataset without navigating to a specific page first.
What is the difference between Tell Me and Advanced Tell Me in Business Central?
The standard Tell Me tab matches results based on the exact words or synonyms you type, using Business Central’s built-in search terms. Advanced Tell Me uses AI-powered semantic search to find results based on the meaning of your input, allowing plain-language queries like “where do I approve purchase orders” instead of requiring exact page names. Advanced Tell Me is available in Business Central Online only and requires administrator enablement through Feature Management.
Getting More Out of Business Central Every Day
Tell Me is one of those features that pays off more the more deliberately you use it. Alt+Q, type what you need, go. Once that becomes the default way your team navigates Business Central, the time adds up fast. For more tips on getting the most out of Business Central’s built-in tools, the CAL post on Business Central tips and tricks is worth a read.
If your team is looking to get more out of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and wants to talk through what a structured training or optimization engagement looks like, contact CAL Business Solutions.
CAL Business Solutions is a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central implementation partner serving distribution, manufacturing, brick & block, and professional services businesses across the United States. Our team helps Business Central customers get more value from the features built into their existing licenses, from navigation and search to Copilot and reporting.
