Natural language query

A natural language query, sometimes shortened to NLQ, is a data question asked in plain words rather than SQL. You type “how many customers signed up in May” and the system works out the query for you.

Natural language is the input. What happens next is what matters. A weak tool just guesses at the SQL. An analytics agent takes the same plain-language question, runs the query, checks the result, and corrects itself, which is the difference between a neat demo and an answer you can trust.

How it relates to text to SQL

Text to SQL is the step that turns the words into a query. Natural language query is the broader idea of letting people ask in their own words, with the agent handling the rest.