aiqbench analysis
DSABench introduces a rigorous evaluation framework for multi-database agents, addressing the critical gap between single-source text-to-SQL tasks and real-world scenarios requiring source discovery, coordination, and execution. The benchmark reveals significant performance drops when agents must manage cross-source dependencies without explicit clarification, highlighting that current models struggle to maintain context across complex data workflows. This work is essential for advancing agentic systems capable of operating within large-scale data catalogs where selecting and integrating multiple databases is part of the core problem.
DSABench: Benchmarking Source Discovery, Coordination, and Execution for Multi-Database Agents
arXiv:2610.14700v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Most text-to-SQL benchmarks provide the target database. In a large data catalog, however, choosing the sources is part of the problem: an agent must find every database needed for a request, determine how their results fit together, and execute the resulting workflow. We present DSABench to evaluate these capabilities jointly. Its 815 human-reviewed tasks draw on Spider, BIRD, and LiveSQLBench; 618 require several databases to contribute, and 105 allow more than one interpretation of the required sources. Executable contracts define source participation, cross-source dependencies, and source-local execution, while RouteEnv lets agents inspect public catalog evidence without revealing the gold annotations. In our routing-only study across seven model backends, the highest RA-Set score is 60.55%, compared with a highest RA-Graph score of 34.66% when coordination requirements are included. The gap becomes more pronounced when execution is required. Across four backends, median non-privileged Route+Exec-Graph success ranges from 6.69% to 7.98% without clarification and from 11.44% to 13.25% with one clarification; the best observed clarified configuration reaches 16.99%. On ambiguous tasks, clarification improves exact branch-source recovery by 39.8-43.2 percentage points. These findings illustrate why retrieving plausible databases or producing correct local SQL is not enough: an agent must carry the right information through the entire multi-database workflow.
Abstract:Most text-to-SQL benchmarks provide the target database. In a large data catalog, however, choosing the sources is part of the problem: an agent must find every database needed for a request, determine how their results fit together, and execute the resulting workflow. We present DSABench to evaluate these capabilities jointly. Its 815 human-reviewed tasks draw on Spider, BIRD, and LiveSQLBench; 618 require several databases to contribute, and 105 allow more than one interpretation of the required sources. Executable contracts define source participation, cross-source dependencies, and source-local execution, while RouteEnv lets agents inspect public catalog evidence without revealing the gold annotations. In our routing-only study across seven model backends, the highest RA-Set score is 60.55%, compared with a highest RA-Graph score of 34.66% when coordination requirements are included. The gap becomes more pronounced when execution is required. Across four backends, median non-privileged Route+Exec-Graph success ranges from 6.69% to 7.98% without clarification and from 11.44% to 13.25% with one clarification; the best observed clarified configuration reaches 16.99%. On ambiguous tasks, clarification improves exact branch-source recovery by 39.8-43.2 percentage points. These findings illustrate why retrieving plausible databases or producing correct local SQL is not enough: an agent must carry the right information through the entire multi-database workflow.
Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI)
arXiv:2610.14700 [cs.AI]
(or arXiv:2610.14700v1 [cs.AI] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.14700 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)
arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.
Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.
Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs.
Full text under the publisher's open licence · 298 words
Related coverage

Vertical Advantage: Transforming Industries with Lakebase and Agentic AI
Databricks · Aug 27, 2026

Brief independent investigation of agents’ behavior, reasoning and collaboration in the OpenAI / Hugging Face hacking incident
METR · Aug 26, 2026
Anatomy of a Frontier Lab Agent Intrusion: A Technical Timeline of the July 2026 Incident
Hugging Face · Jul 27, 2026

[AINews] not much happened today
Latent Space · Sep 18, 2026