Werk #19790: Explain with AI: AI-powered explanations for hosts and services
| Component | Checks & agents | ||||
| Title | Explain with AI: AI-powered explanations for hosts and services | ||||
| Date | Apr 13, 2026 | ||||
| Level | Major Change | ||||
| Class | New Feature | ||||
| Compatibility | Compatible - no manual interaction needed | ||||
| Checkmk versions & editions |
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Checkmk SaaS now ships with an AI assistant that helps you understand and act on what your monitoring is telling you, without leaving Checkmk. The feature is available on Checkmk SaaS / Cloud only.
How to use it
When a service is in a concerning state, click Explain with AI. Two entry points are available on every service:
- a sparkle icon in the Icons column of any service listing, including the Services of host view and generic service overviews, and
- an Explain with AI button on each individual service's page.
A side panel slides in and the answer streams in progressively, so you can start reading right away.
What you get back
Each answer assess what is happening on the service, how serious it is and puts it into context by also considering the overall state of the host. It suggests concrete next steps to investigate or fix the issue.
Activation and permissions
The feature is controlled by two switches:
- Global setting Enable AI-based explanations (default on). Disabling it hides both entry points and prevents any data from being sent to the AI service.
- Role permission AI: Explain with AI (default on for the
adminanduserroles). Revoke it to hide the feature from a role.
The first time you use the feature you are shown a legal disclaimer naming the AI provider currently powering the answers. Your acknowledgement is remembered per user in the browser.
What data is sent
To produce a useful answer the assistant forwards a snapshot of the relevant monitoring data to an external AI provider. This snapshot covers the host and service you clicked on together with the other services running on the same host.