Text-to-SQL

Text-to-SQL is the process of turning a question written in everyday language into a SQL query that a database can run. SQL is the language most business databases use to store and fetch data. A text-to-SQL system reads the question, works out which tables and columns it refers to, and writes the query. The database runs that query and returns the rows that answer the question.

This lets people who do not know SQL get answers from data without waiting for an analyst. The hard part is accuracy, because a query can run without errors and still answer a slightly different question. Good systems show the query they wrote so a person can check it.

For example, a sales head asks which five products had the most returns in March. The system writes a query that keeps only March orders, adds up returns for each product and sorts the totals.