About
Honeycomb Query Assistant brings natural language querying to the Honeycomb observability platform, removing the steep learning curve traditionally associated with query languages in monitoring tools. Instead of requiring engineers to master a proprietary query syntax, Query Assistant lets any team member type a plain English description—such as 'slow endpoints by status code'—and instantly receive a fully formed Honeycomb query ready to run and refine. The tool is designed to augment human intuition rather than replace it. Once a query is generated, engineers can tweak it using the familiar Query Builder UI, run it again, share it with teammates, or iterate further using natural language. This interactive and iterative workflow ensures that AI assists the investigative process without taking control away from the engineer. Query Assistant is part of Honeycomb's broader observability platform, which includes distributed tracing, log analytics, frontend observability, SLOs, BubbleUp anomaly detection, and more. It is especially valuable for organizations where only a small subset of power users currently know how to write queries, democratizing access to observability insights across teams. The feature is available to all Honeycomb users—including free tier users—at no additional charge, making it an immediate upgrade for anyone already on the platform.
Key Features
- Natural Language Query Generation: Type a plain English question or description and Query Assistant automatically generates the corresponding Honeycomb observability query.
- Interactive & Iterative Workflow: Generated queries are fully editable via the Query Builder UI, enabling engineers to refine, re-run, and build on AI-generated starting points.
- Team-Wide Observability Access: Removes the dependency on power users who know the query language, making observability accessible to every engineer on the team.
- Zero Additional Cost: Query Assistant is included for all Honeycomb users at no extra charge, making AI-assisted querying available out of the box.
- Seamless Platform Integration: Works natively within Honeycomb alongside distributed tracing, log analytics, BubbleUp, SLOs, and other observability features.
Use Cases
- An engineer investigating a latency spike types 'slowest endpoints grouped by status code over the last hour' and immediately gets a query to run without writing any syntax.
- A developer new to Honeycomb uses Query Assistant to onboard quickly by asking natural language questions and learning how queries are structured from the generated output.
- A team lead shares a Query Assistant-generated query with teammates to collaboratively investigate an incident, then iterates on it using the Query Builder UI.
- A DevOps engineer explores LLM application performance by asking 'token usage by model over the past 24 hours' without needing to know Honeycomb's column syntax.
- An SRE uses Query Assistant during an on-call incident to rapidly explore multiple hypotheses in plain English rather than spending time crafting precise queries from scratch.
Pros
- Democratizes Observability: Allows any team member—not just query language experts—to investigate system behavior and incidents effectively.
- No Extra Cost: Included for all Honeycomb users without an additional subscription or fee, providing immediate value.
- Human-in-the-Loop Design: Augments engineer intuition rather than replacing it; results are always editable and under the engineer's control.
Cons
- Honeycomb Platform Lock-in: Query Assistant only works within Honeycomb; it cannot be used with other observability or monitoring platforms.
- Early-Stage AI Feature: Described as 'scratching the surface' of AI in observability—complex queries may still require manual refinement.
- Requires Existing Honeycomb Setup: Teams must already have instrumentation and data flowing into Honeycomb to benefit from the feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Honeycomb Query Assistant?
Query Assistant is an AI-powered feature in Honeycomb that converts plain English descriptions into observability queries. Engineers can type something like 'slow endpoints by status code' and get a ready-to-use Honeycomb query instantly.
Is Query Assistant free to use?
Yes. Query Assistant is available to all Honeycomb users at no additional cost, including users on free-tier accounts.
Can I edit the queries that Query Assistant generates?
Absolutely. Generated queries are fully editable using Honeycomb's Query Builder UI. The intent is for engineers to use the AI output as a starting point and iterate from there.
Do I need to know Honeycomb's query language to use Query Assistant?
No. Query Assistant is specifically designed to eliminate that requirement, allowing anyone on the team to explore observability data using natural language.
Does Query Assistant replace the need for engineers to understand their systems?
No. Honeycomb built Query Assistant to augment human intuition, not replace it. Engineers still apply their context and judgment; the tool simply makes it faster to translate that intuition into queries.
