Defog
Defog.ai is a natural language data query tool that is embedded in applications. The tool allows users to ask free-form data questions and ...
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What is Defog?
Defog is an AI-powered data analyst tool that enables users to get answers from their data instantly by typing questions in plain language. It converts natural language queries into SQL automatically, fetching relevant data and visualizing it without waiting on data teams. The tool works with data from any source including Postgres, Snowflake, BigQuery, MySQL, Redshift, Databricks, SQLite, and SQL Server databases, as well as CSV files and integrated tools via connectors.
Key features include SQLCoder, Defog's specialized large language model for text-to-SQL generation that outperforms GPT-4 and other major models on structured data queries. The platform offers a rich chat UI with built-in visualizations, Guided Teaching mode for feedback that improves query accuracy, on-prem deployment for enterprise customers, multilingual support for 9 languages including Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, and Hindi, statistical modeling that creates Python code for regression analysis, and a reporting agent that provides recommendations for broad business questions. Defog learns from user feedback and adapts responses to individual preferences.
Defog is designed for enterprises, data teams, analysts, business users, and app developers who want to embed AI data assistants into their applications. It helps companies break free from data bottlenecks, enabling drill-down to specific data points without clicking through filters, exploring broad hypotheses, and asking follow-on questions independently. The tool is used by industry leaders and is YC W23 backed.
Trust and privacy are central to Defog's design - your data never leaves your servers and is never shared with anyone including the AI model. The platform offers best-in-class accuracy, interpretability with explainable results, and fine-tuned models adapted to your organization's specific business rules and metrics definitions.
Defog pricing
Pricing model: Free
Defog offers a freemium pricing model. The free tier includes 1000 queries per month on a schema with up to 5 tables and 25 total columns, plus 100 API calls per month with database integrations. The free tier runs on a less capable model than paid plans. The Enterprise plan is $5,000/month with models finetuned for your organization and requires an annual commitment. Enterprise (Cloud Hosted) includes all features plus on-prem deployment options. A Pilot Program is available for $900 one-time fee for an 8-week program to implement AI assistant in your app and evaluate impact.
Defog pros
- Converts natural language to SQL automatically
- Works with all major databases including Postgres, Snowflake, BigQuery
- CSV support for users without databases
- SQLCoder outperforms GPT-4 for text-to-SQL tasks
- Data never leaves your servers - privacy-first architecture
- Built-in visualizations in chat UI
- Guided Teaching mode for feedback-driven improvements
- On-prem deployment available for enterprises
- Multilingual support for 9 languages
- Statistical modeling with Python regression analysis
- Reporting agent for broad business recommendations
- Adapts to user feedback and preferences
- 1000 queries per month on free tier
- API access included free
- Guides business rules and metric definitions
- Fast - get specific data points in seconds
- Explorable broad trends in minutes
- No clicking through filters needed
- Thumbs up/down feedback system
- Open-source evaluation framework SQLEval
Defog cons
- Free tier limited to 5 tables with 25 columns
- Free tier runs on less capable model than paid plans
- Pricing may be steep for small businesses
- 100 API calls/month limit on free plan (older tier)
- On-prem deployment only for enterprise customers
- Statistical modeling is beta feature
- Reporting agent is beta feature
- Setup and customization can be complex
- Learning curve for initial customization
- Performance sluggish on exceptionally large datasets
Frequently asked questions about Defog
Does Defog see my sensitive database data?
No, Defog works without getting access to the actual data in your database. It is trained only on metadata (column names, data types, and descriptions) so your data never leaves your servers and is never shared with anyone, including the AI model.
Which databases are supported?
Defog supports Postgres, Snowflake, BigQuery, MySQL, Redshift, Databricks, SQLite, and SQL Server. It works with any structured database and also supports CSV files for users without databases.
How do I integrate Defog into my existing app?
You can integrate Defog using the RESTful API or Python client. Install the Python client via pip install defog, initialize with your API key and database credentials, then use run_query() with your natural language question. The REST API endpoint is https://api.defog.ai/generate_query_chat.
Can it handle complex databases?
Yes, Defog can handle complex databases. While the free tier is limited to 5 tables with 25 columns, paid plans (Pro and Enterprise) support more complex schemas and run on more capable models for better query accuracy.
What is SQLCoder?
SQLCoder is Defog's specialized large language model for converting natural language questions to SQL queries. It outperforms GPT-4 and GPT-4-turbo for text-to-SQL generation tasks and has over 300,000 downloads since being open-sourced in 2023.
How does Defog learn from user feedback?
Defog has a Guided Teaching mode where users can give feedback on queries using thumbs up/down icons. If a query is incorrect or could be written more efficiently, users can give thumbs down and Defog will take that into account to improve the queries it creates continuously.
What languages does Defog support?
Defog supports 9 languages: English, Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, and Bahasa Indonesia. It can understand questions, ingest schema, and provide answers in all these languages.
Can Defog run statistical analysis?
Yes, Defog has a statistical modeling feature (beta) that can create Python code and run regression models, going beyond just SQL query generation to provide more advanced data analysis capabilities.
Is there a healthcare-specific model?
Yes, Defog launched MedSQL, a dedicated model for healthcare customers that lets you query US healthcare billing data in ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS codes in natural language, while maintaining privacy so data never leaves your servers.
What is the Pilot Program?
The Pilot Program is an 8-week program with a one-time fee of $900 that helps you implement an AI assistant in your app, gather feedback from users, evaluate its impact on your business, and understand Defog's strengths and capabilities without investing in a full implementation.