Observability for GenAI Applications (Grafana OpenTelemetry Community Call)

Jan 22, 2026

In this episode, we’re diving into observability for Generative AI apps. AI helps us write code and monitor applications in production - but how do we observe the AI itself? And how do we make sense of complex, non-deterministic AI systems?

🎙️ We’re joined by two great guests: Ishan Jain, working on GenAI observability and Luccas Quadros, working on Grafana Assistant.
Together, they bring both platform-level insights and real-world perspectives.

🚀 We’ll explore the fast-evolving space of observability for generative AI apps, including:

  • How non-deterministic responses change the way we think about observability
  • Recording prompts and completions in telemetry: when it’s useful, when it’s not, and how to do it safely
  • Using automated evaluations to understand whether things actually work
  • Monitoring agentic workflows and multi-step reasoning
  • What OTel GenAI group works on

💬 Join us live for an open conversation! Bring your questions, opinions, and hot takes - it’s going to be a fun one 🤖

TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 Introductions and Overview of the Call
00:03:15 Guests Introductions: Ishan and Lucas
00:05:00 Announcement: Final Chance to Register for Otel Unplugged
00:06:30 Discussion: What is Generative AI?
00:10:45 The Evolution of AI and Observability Techniques
00:15:30 Challenges in Observing Generative AI Applications
00:20:00 Importance of Latency in AI Interactions
00:25:00 Demo: Observability for AI Agent Execution
00:32:00 Discussing Costs Associated with AI Model Evaluations
00:40:00 Evaluating AI Responses with LLM as Judge
00:50:00 Closing Thoughts and Resources for Getting Started with Observability