Forward AI
Forward AI is a conversational agent that answers questions about your network in plain English. It runs against the same Forward Enterprise digital twin that backs Search, Verify, and NQE.
Open Forward AI from the left navigation, type a question, and the agent plans the work, runs the tools it needs (path search, NQE, device lookups, vulnerability queries, and more), and replies with a summary, evidence, and suggested follow-up questions.
What you can ask
- "Trace traffic from
<srcIp>to<dstIp>and explain where it's being blocked." - "Show devices with CVE-2024-XXXXX and tell me whether any are exposed to the internet."
- "Identify firewall rules that haven't matched a packet in the last 30 days."
- "List devices past their vendor end-of-life, with platform and location."
The Capabilities page lists every category of question the agent can handle, with sample prompts.
How it works
- You send a prompt. The agent parses it and decides whether the question is in scope for the tools available to you.
- It builds a plan. A plan is a sequence of tool calls — for example, "look up the device, then trace a path, then summarize."
- It executes the plan. Tool calls run against the digital twin: NQE queries, path search, device and interface lookups, vulnerability data, and so on.
- It returns a final answer. The reply includes a summary, key insights, the evidence (clickable tool results), and a few suggested follow-up questions.
If a question can't be answered with the available tools, Forward AI returns an out-of-scope explanation instead of guessing. See Limits and scope.
Forward AI vs. NQE AI Assist
Both features use generative AI, but at different layers:
| Forward AI | NQE AI Assist | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | Dedicated Forward AI application in the left nav | Inside the NQE editor |
| What it does | Multi-step agent that plans and runs tools to answer a question end-to-end | Generates an NQE query from a natural-language description |
| When to use it | Operational and investigative questions ("why can't host A reach host B?") | When you're authoring an NQE query and want a starting point |
| Output | A conversational answer with evidence and follow-ups | An NQE query you can run and edit |
You can use both. Forward AI uses NQE under the hood for open-ended analytical questions; NQE AI Assist is the right tool when you specifically want to write or refine a query yourself.
Availability
Forward AI is available on Forward Enterprise SaaS. See Prerequisites for the org settings, roles, and snapshot requirements.
Where to go next
- Prerequisites — what your org and role need before you can use Forward AI.
- Using Forward AI — UI walkthrough and conversation flow.
- Capabilities — the categories of questions the agent can answer, with sample prompts.
- Limits and scope — out-of-scope replies, hard limits, and snapshot scoping.