AtScale Unveils Natural Language Query Capabilities, Revolutionizing Data Access for Business Users

Here at AtScale, we’re continuing to redefine the business intelligence (BI) landscape. With our new natural language query (NLQ) capabilities, we’re taking another leap forward in empowering businesses with data-driven insights. This innovation enables business users to access insights from their data by asking questions in plain English—no need for complex data engineering, SQL expertise, or data science skills. Powered by AtScale’s cutting-edge Semantic Layer and Generative AI, the NLQ functionality ensures that insights are derived quickly and accurately from existing BI reports or custom queries.

Why Natural Language Querying Matters

In today’s data-driven world, the ability to access insights quickly can be the difference between leading the market and falling behind. However, complex SQL queries, data science workflows, and labor-intensive data engineering have often slowed decision-making. AtScale’s new NLQ feature changes the game by allowing business users to query their data with natural language, removing the need for technical expertise.

Imagine being able to ask, “What are our highest-selling products over $1,000?” and receiving an instant, accurate response. This type of access to insights not only accelerates decision-making but also democratizes data, empowering every member of an organization to act on valuable data insights.

Integrating NLQ with AtScale’s Semantic Layer

AtScale’s Semantic Layer has always been at the core of how we provide seamless access to data. With the addition of Natural Language Querying, we’re taking this one step further by integrating Generative AI with our platform. This lets users obtain insights directly from BI reports or custom queries, ensuring they can tap into every corner of their data environment—whether in Snowflake, Databricks, or other platforms.

Our NLQ capabilities rely on the business context and metadata embedded in the Semantic Layer to understand and interpret user queries. The result? Faster, more accurate insights with minimal manual intervention. In fact, our NLQ solution has demonstrated a 92.5% accuracy rate in text-to-SQL tasks, as reported in our latest white paper. This feature is a direct result of our commitment to combining large language models (LLMs) with our advanced semantic modeling technology.

How AtScale’s NLQ Works

Let me take you through how it all comes together. With one click, you can build a new semantic model based on your existing data. No manual SQL queries, no complicated data wrangling—just an intuitive interface that creates a model ready to be queried. Once deployed, you can use natural language to ask questions, which our Semantic Layer interprets into accurate SQL queries.

For example, in a recent demo, I showed how easy it was to generate a new semantic model for a bike store and immediately ask a question like, “What products do we sell that are over $1,000?” In just a few seconds, the system returned the answer—bikes and bike frames—proving the power of natural language querying.

AtScale’s Natural Language Query (NLQ) empowers business users to query data in plain English for instant insights.

Advantages for Modern Enterprises

AtScale’s NLQ doesn’t just offer query acceleration and cost efficiency. It also introduces autonomic data engineering, streamlining the entire data access process. By eliminating the need for complex data pipelines, business users can bypass traditional data engineering and still receive robust insights, all while reducing infrastructure costs.

This innovation boosts data democratization and enhances the scalability and flexibility of your organization’s data infrastructure. Now, business leaders, analysts, and decision-makers can effortlessly query data and drive more informed decisions in real time.

What’s Next: Private Preview and How You Can Participate

I’m thrilled to announce that the Natural Language Query (NLQ) capabilities are now in private preview. If you want to participate in this early-access program and experience firsthand how NLQ can transform your organization’s interaction with data, I encourage you to contact your AtScale representative or sign up for a 14-day free trial.

As we continue to innovate, our goal remains to make data access as simple as possible without sacrificing the accuracy and depth that enterprises need to stay competitive. For those who want to dive deeper into how this works, I highly recommend watching our demo video or reading the white paper titled “Enabling Natural Language Prompting with AtScale’s Semantic Layer and Generative AI” by AtScale Lead Data Scientist Jeff Curran.