Bridge
Bridge vs Looker

Looker governs the metrics analysts model. Bridge handles the ask your customer made.

Custom fields, dashboards, exports. Handled in chat by your CSM, on your API. No semantic model to maintain.

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Free for 14 days on one of your customers. No card.

At a glance
LookerBridge
Who it's for
Analysts who model, customers who explore
Your customer, through your CSM
What it builds
A governed semantic layer and Explores
The one-off view a customer asked for
Who builds it
An analyst, in LookML
Your CSM, in chat
Time to a new ask
A modeling task, scheduled against other work
Minutes
Custom fields
Reusable metrics in LookML; ad-hoc fields in an Explore
Calculated live on every record
Delivery
A dashboard in the Looker instance
A white-labeled link, in the conversation
6 of 11 differences shownSee all

Why choose Bridge over Looker.

Looker is where analysts model governed metrics customers explore. Bridge sits on your API and handles the one-off asks your customers make, in chat.

01Workflow

Handled in chat, not modeled in LookML.

Looker is where an analyst models metrics your customers explore. Bridge sits on your API. The CSM types the customer's ask in chat, Bridge builds the view, the link goes back in the same conversation. No model to deploy.

See the full comparison
bridge_chat
live
Show every load 24h+ late, by carrier and lane.
calling /shipments · grouping by carrier · building view
late-loads.bridge.link/acme
shared
Sent back in the same conversation. No ticket opened.
02Custom dashboards

Built in chat, not modeled first.

A new governed metric in Looker waits on the model: a LookML change, a review, a deploy. Ad-hoc fields can be added in an Explore, but the reusable, certified ones run through LookML. Bridge builds the one your customer asked for once, in chat against your API, scoped to that customer and shared as a white-labeled link they open themselves.

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late_loads_view
shared
loads late
42
carriers
7
avg delay
31h
late by lane
03Custom fields

Calculated live, not defined in the model.

Bridge adds calculated fields across every record without a LookML change or a deploy. No modeling task, no review queued. The field is live the moment the formula resolves.

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contacts
calculated
ContactActivity 90dchampion_strength
Acme Corp142 events92High
Globex88 events64Med
Initech31 events27Low
calculated live · no schema change
04Custom exports

In their format, not a scheduled Look.

Bridge writes a CSV in the shape your customer asked for, with custom and calculated columns included. Saved as a view they can re-run. Their format becomes the default, not yours.

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export.csv
custom format
invoicedays_overduepriority_score
INV-204161High
INV-203834Med
INV-210212Low
custom + calculated columnsdownload
05Speed

Minutes, not a modeling sprint.

In Looker, a custom ask becomes a modeling task: a LookML change, a review, a deploy. In Bridge, the CSM types the ask, Bridge calls your API and builds the view, and the link goes back in the same conversation.

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time_to_delivered
measured
Bridge4 min
LookerDays. Quarters.

from the moment the CSM relays the ask

Where they actually differ.

The capabilities that decide which tool fits the ask in front of you.

Looker
Bridge
Built by your CSM, no analyst
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Installed on your API in minutes, no model to build
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Delivered in minutes, not a modeling sprint
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Custom dashboards, handled in chat
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Custom fields without a model change
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Custom exports in the customer's format
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Delivered as a chat link, no embed or BI instance to build
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Customer stays in the conversation, no BI instance
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Per-customer scoping from your API
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Public, fixed price with unlimited CS seats
Looker: no
Bridge: yes
Governed semantic layer with certified, reusable metrics
Looker: yes
Bridge: no
Customer self-serve exploration in Explores
Looker: yes
Bridge: no
Embedded analytics inside your product
Looker: yes
Bridge: no
Scheduled Looks and data-driven alerts
Looker: yes
Bridge: no
Verified June 2026cloud.google.com/looker

Should you choose Bridge or Looker?

Bridge sits on your API and handles customer asks in chat. Looker is where analysts model the governed metrics your customers explore. They cover different jobs.

Best for most teams

Choose Bridge

  • Custom dashboards
    The one your customer asked for once, built in chat and scoped to them.
  • Custom fields
    Calculated across every record, live, with no model change.
  • Custom exports
    A CSV in the customer's format, with calculated columns included.
  • One-off asks
    Anything that does not fit your model, handled in minutes by your CSM.
Start a free pilot

14-day pilot. One customer. No card.

Different job

Choose Looker only if

  • You need one governed source of truth for your metrics.
  • Your customers explore certified, reusable metrics in Explores.
  • You embed governed analytics inside your product.
  • You have analysts to model and maintain the LookML.

Still deciding which tool fits the ask?

If you need governed metrics your customers explore, that is Looker. If you want a customer's one-off ask handled in chat, that is Bridge.

Start a free pilot
  • 14-day pilot on one customer
  • No card to start
  • Keep Looker for governed analytics

The questions we get most.

Yes. They cover different jobs, so you can run both. Looker for the governed metrics your customers explore on their own. Bridge for the one-off asks they make through your CSM.

Yes. They type the ask in plain English. Bridge calls your API, computes whatever needs computing, and builds the view. No LookML to write. No model to deploy. No analyst pulled in.

No. A governed semantic layer, where every metric is defined once and reused across dashboards, is Looker's job. Bridge does not model your metrics. It computes one view for one ask, from your API, and shares it as a white-labeled link. If you need certified, reusable metrics, keep Looker.

Looker is the right tool. Bridge generates a view from one ask. It does not replace governed exploration. If your customer wants to slice certified metrics in an Explore, that is Looker.

Because embedded Looker covers the metrics you modeled in advance. The one-off ask a customer makes still becomes a modeling task for your analysts. Bridge takes that off the queue: the CSM handles it in chat, on your API, scoped to that customer.

Looker is quote-only. It is sold through Google Cloud sales as platform pricing plus per-user licensing, with no public per-seat price, so you contact sales for a number. Bridge is $199/month for up to 5 connected customers, with unlimited CS seats. Past 5, pricing moves to enterprise and we size it with you. The pilot is free for 14 days, no card. Different models. See the Bridge pricing page for detail.

Only what your API exposes. Queries are authenticated per session. Per-customer activity logs are on by default. We do not train models on your data.

Still on the fence?Book 20 minutes with the founder

Start saying yes to custom asks without a modeling task.

14 days. One customer. Free. Then $199/month for up to five connected customers, enterprise past that.

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