GenAI: mark sampling-relevant attributes (#2994)

lmolkova · web-flow · commit 2945b0bbc714 · 2026-01-12T18:18:39.000Z
diff --git a/.chloggen/gen-ai-sampling-relevant.yaml b/.chloggen/gen-ai-sampling-relevant.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+change_type: enhancement
+component: gen_ai
+note: Added `sampling-relevant` flag to relevant GenAI span attributes to indicate their importance for sampling decisions.
+issues: [2994]
diff --git a/docs/gen-ai/aws-bedrock.md b/docs/gen-ai/aws-bedrock.md
@@ -201,6 +201,15 @@ Since this attribute could be large, it's NOT RECOMMENDED to populate
 it by default. Instrumentations MAY provide a way to enable
 populating this attribute.
 
+The following attributes can be important for making sampling decisions
+and SHOULD be provided **at span creation time** (if provided at all):
+
+* [`gen_ai.operation.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.provider.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.request.model`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`server.address`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+* [`server.port`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+
 ---
 
 `error.type` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.
diff --git a/docs/gen-ai/azure-ai-inference.md b/docs/gen-ai/azure-ai-inference.md
@@ -203,6 +203,14 @@ Since this attribute could be large, it's NOT RECOMMENDED to populate
 it by default. Instrumentations MAY provide a way to enable
 populating this attribute.
 
+The following attributes can be important for making sampling decisions
+and SHOULD be provided **at span creation time** (if provided at all):
+
+* [`gen_ai.operation.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.request.model`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`server.address`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+* [`server.port`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+
 ---
 
 `error.type` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.
diff --git a/docs/gen-ai/gen-ai-agent-spans.md b/docs/gen-ai/gen-ai-agent-spans.md
@@ -112,6 +112,15 @@ Instrumentations SHOULD document the list of errors they report.
 
 **[6] `server.address`:** When observed from the client side, and when communicating through an intermediary, `server.address` SHOULD represent the server address behind any intermediaries, for example proxies, if it's available.
 
+The following attributes can be important for making sampling decisions
+and SHOULD be provided **at span creation time** (if provided at all):
+
+* [`gen_ai.operation.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.provider.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.request.model`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`server.address`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+* [`server.port`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+
 ---
 
 `error.type` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.
@@ -350,6 +359,15 @@ Since this attribute could be large, it's NOT RECOMMENDED to populate
 it by default. Instrumentations MAY provide a way to enable
 populating this attribute.
 
+The following attributes can be important for making sampling decisions
+and SHOULD be provided **at span creation time** (if provided at all):
+
+* [`gen_ai.operation.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.provider.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.request.model`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`server.address`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+* [`server.port`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+
 ---
 
 `error.type` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.
diff --git a/docs/gen-ai/gen-ai-events.md b/docs/gen-ai/gen-ai-events.md
@@ -8,8 +8,8 @@ linkTitle: Events
 
 <!-- toc -->
 
-- [Event: `event.gen_ai.client.inference.operation.details`](#event-eventgen_aiclientinferenceoperationdetails)
-- [Event: `event.gen_ai.evaluation.result`](#event-eventgen_aievaluationresult)
+- [Event: `gen_ai.client.inference.operation.details`](#event-gen_aiclientinferenceoperationdetails)
+- [Event: `gen_ai.evaluation.result`](#event-gen_aievaluationresult)
 
 <!-- tocstop -->
 
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ GenAI instrumentations MAY capture user inputs sent to the model and responses r
 > [!Note]
 > Events are in-development and not yet available in some languages. Check [spec-compliance matrix](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-specification/blob/v1.53.0/spec-compliance-matrix.md#logs) to see the implementation status in corresponding language.
 
-## Event: `event.gen_ai.client.inference.operation.details`
+## Event: `gen_ai.client.inference.operation.details`
 
 <!-- semconv event.gen_ai.client.inference.operation.details -->
 <!-- NOTE: THIS TEXT IS AUTOGENERATED. DO NOT EDIT BY HAND. -->
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ populating this attribute.
 <!-- END AUTOGENERATED TEXT -->
 <!-- endsemconv -->
 
-## Event: `event.gen_ai.evaluation.result`
+## Event: `gen_ai.evaluation.result`
 
 <!-- semconv event.gen_ai.evaluation.result -->
 <!-- NOTE: THIS TEXT IS AUTOGENERATED. DO NOT EDIT BY HAND. -->
diff --git a/docs/gen-ai/gen-ai-spans.md b/docs/gen-ai/gen-ai-spans.md
@@ -214,6 +214,15 @@ Since this attribute could be large, it's NOT RECOMMENDED to populate
 it by default. Instrumentations MAY provide a way to enable
 populating this attribute.
 
+The following attributes can be important for making sampling decisions
+and SHOULD be provided **at span creation time** (if provided at all):
+
+* [`gen_ai.operation.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.provider.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.request.model`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`server.address`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+* [`server.port`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+
 ---
 
 `error.type` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.
@@ -301,27 +310,56 @@ The `gen_ai.operation.name` SHOULD be `embeddings`.
 | Key | Stability | [Requirement Level](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/semconv/general/attribute-requirement-level/) | Value Type | Description | Example Values |
 | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
 | [`gen_ai.operation.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) | `Required` | string | The name of the operation being performed. [1] | `chat`; `generate_content`; `text_completion` |
-| [`error.type`](/docs/registry/attributes/error.md) | ![Stable](https://img.shields.io/badge/-stable-lightgreen) | `Conditionally Required` if the operation ended in an error | string | Describes a class of error the operation ended with. [2] | `timeout`; `java.net.UnknownHostException`; `server_certificate_invalid`; `500` |
-| [`gen_ai.request.model`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) | `Conditionally Required` If available. | string | The name of the GenAI model a request is being made to. [3] | `gpt-4` |
-| [`server.port`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md) | ![Stable](https://img.shields.io/badge/-stable-lightgreen) | `Conditionally Required` If `server.address` is set. | int | GenAI server port. [4] | `80`; `8080`; `443` |
+| [`gen_ai.provider.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) | `Required` | string | The Generative AI provider as identified by the client or server instrumentation. [2] | `openai`; `gcp.gen_ai`; `gcp.vertex_ai` |
+| [`error.type`](/docs/registry/attributes/error.md) | ![Stable](https://img.shields.io/badge/-stable-lightgreen) | `Conditionally Required` if the operation ended in an error | string | Describes a class of error the operation ended with. [3] | `timeout`; `java.net.UnknownHostException`; `server_certificate_invalid`; `500` |
+| [`gen_ai.request.model`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) | `Conditionally Required` If available. | string | The name of the GenAI model a request is being made to. [4] | `gpt-4` |
+| [`server.port`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md) | ![Stable](https://img.shields.io/badge/-stable-lightgreen) | `Conditionally Required` If `server.address` is set. | int | GenAI server port. [5] | `80`; `8080`; `443` |
 | [`gen_ai.embeddings.dimension.count`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) | `Recommended` | int | The number of dimensions the resulting output embeddings should have. | `512`; `1024` |
-| [`gen_ai.request.encoding_formats`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) | `Recommended` | string[] | The encoding formats requested in an embeddings operation, if specified. [5] | `["base64"]`; `["float", "binary"]` |
+| [`gen_ai.request.encoding_formats`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) | `Recommended` | string[] | The encoding formats requested in an embeddings operation, if specified. [6] | `["base64"]`; `["float", "binary"]` |
 | [`gen_ai.usage.input_tokens`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) | `Recommended` | int | The number of tokens used in the GenAI input (prompt). | `100` |
-| [`server.address`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md) | ![Stable](https://img.shields.io/badge/-stable-lightgreen) | `Recommended` | string | GenAI server address. [6] | `example.com`; `10.1.2.80`; `/tmp/my.sock` |
+| [`server.address`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md) | ![Stable](https://img.shields.io/badge/-stable-lightgreen) | `Recommended` | string | GenAI server address. [7] | `example.com`; `10.1.2.80`; `/tmp/my.sock` |
 
 **[1] `gen_ai.operation.name`:** If one of the predefined values applies, but specific system uses a different name it's RECOMMENDED to document it in the semantic conventions for specific GenAI system and use system-specific name in the instrumentation. If a different name is not documented, instrumentation libraries SHOULD use applicable predefined value.
 
-**[2] `error.type`:** The `error.type` SHOULD match the error code returned by the Generative AI provider or the client library,
+**[2] `gen_ai.provider.name`:** The attribute SHOULD be set based on the instrumentation's best
+knowledge and may differ from the actual model provider.
+
+Multiple providers, including Azure OpenAI, Gemini, and AI hosting platforms
+are accessible using the OpenAI REST API and corresponding client libraries,
+but may proxy or host models from different providers.
+
+The `gen_ai.request.model`, `gen_ai.response.model`, and `server.address`
+attributes may help identify the actual system in use.
+
+The `gen_ai.provider.name` attribute acts as a discriminator that
+identifies the GenAI telemetry format flavor specific to that provider
+within GenAI semantic conventions.
+It SHOULD be set consistently with provider-specific attributes and signals.
+For example, GenAI spans, metrics, and events related to AWS Bedrock
+should have the `gen_ai.provider.name` set to `aws.bedrock` and include
+applicable `aws.bedrock.*` attributes and are not expected to include
+`openai.*` attributes.
+
+**[3] `error.type`:** The `error.type` SHOULD match the error code returned by the Generative AI provider or the client library,
 the canonical name of exception that occurred, or another low-cardinality error identifier.
 Instrumentations SHOULD document the list of errors they report.
 
-**[3] `gen_ai.request.model`:** The name of the GenAI model a request is being made to. If the model is supplied by a vendor, then the value must be the exact name of the model requested. If the model is a fine-tuned custom model, the value should have a more specific name than the base model that's been fine-tuned.
+**[4] `gen_ai.request.model`:** The name of the GenAI model a request is being made to. If the model is supplied by a vendor, then the value must be the exact name of the model requested. If the model is a fine-tuned custom model, the value should have a more specific name than the base model that's been fine-tuned.
 
-**[4] `server.port`:** When observed from the client side, and when communicating through an intermediary, `server.port` SHOULD represent the server port behind any intermediaries, for example proxies, if it's available.
+**[5] `server.port`:** When observed from the client side, and when communicating through an intermediary, `server.port` SHOULD represent the server port behind any intermediaries, for example proxies, if it's available.
 
-**[5] `gen_ai.request.encoding_formats`:** In some GenAI systems the encoding formats are called embedding types. Also, some GenAI systems only accept a single format per request.
+**[6] `gen_ai.request.encoding_formats`:** In some GenAI systems the encoding formats are called embedding types. Also, some GenAI systems only accept a single format per request.
 
-**[6] `server.address`:** When observed from the client side, and when communicating through an intermediary, `server.address` SHOULD represent the server address behind any intermediaries, for example proxies, if it's available.
+**[7] `server.address`:** When observed from the client side, and when communicating through an intermediary, `server.address` SHOULD represent the server address behind any intermediaries, for example proxies, if it's available.
+
+The following attributes can be important for making sampling decisions
+and SHOULD be provided **at span creation time** (if provided at all):
+
+* [`gen_ai.operation.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.provider.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.request.model`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`server.address`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+* [`server.port`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
 
 ---
 
@@ -345,6 +383,34 @@ Instrumentations SHOULD document the list of errors they report.
 | `invoke_agent` | Invoke GenAI agent | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
 | `text_completion` | Text completions operation such as [OpenAI Completions API (Legacy)](https://platform.openai.com/docs/api-reference/completions) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
 
+---
+
+`gen_ai.provider.name` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.
+
+| Value | Description | Stability |
+| --- | --- | --- |
+| `anthropic` | [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `aws.bedrock` | [AWS Bedrock](https://aws.amazon.com/bedrock) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `azure.ai.inference` | Azure AI Inference | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `azure.ai.openai` | [Azure OpenAI](https://azure.microsoft.com/products/ai-services/openai-service/) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `cohere` | [Cohere](https://cohere.com/) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `deepseek` | [DeepSeek](https://www.deepseek.com/) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `gcp.gemini` | [Gemini](https://cloud.google.com/products/gemini) [8] | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `gcp.gen_ai` | Any Google generative AI endpoint [9] | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `gcp.vertex_ai` | [Vertex AI](https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai) [10] | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `groq` | [Groq](https://groq.com/) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `ibm.watsonx.ai` | [IBM Watsonx AI](https://www.ibm.com/products/watsonx-ai) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `mistral_ai` | [Mistral AI](https://mistral.ai/) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `openai` | [OpenAI](https://openai.com/) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `perplexity` | [Perplexity](https://www.perplexity.ai/) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+| `x_ai` | [xAI](https://x.ai/) | ![Development](https://img.shields.io/badge/-development-blue) |
+
+**[8]:** Used when accessing the 'generativelanguage.googleapis.com' endpoint. Also known as the AI Studio API.
+
+**[9]:** May be used when specific backend is unknown.
+
+**[10]:** Used when accessing the 'aiplatform.googleapis.com' endpoint.
+
 <!-- prettier-ignore-end -->
 <!-- END AUTOGENERATED TEXT -->
 <!-- endsemconv -->
@@ -421,6 +487,11 @@ It's expected to be an object - in case a serialized string is available
 to the instrumentation, the instrumentation SHOULD do the best effort to
 deserialize it to an object. When recorded on spans, it MAY be recorded as a JSON string if structured format is not supported and SHOULD be recorded in structured form otherwise.
 
+The following attributes can be important for making sampling decisions
+and SHOULD be provided **at span creation time** (if provided at all):
+
+* [`gen_ai.operation.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+
 ---
 
 `error.type` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.
diff --git a/docs/gen-ai/openai.md b/docs/gen-ai/openai.md
@@ -208,6 +208,14 @@ Since this attribute could be large, it's NOT RECOMMENDED to populate
 it by default. Instrumentations MAY provide a way to enable
 populating this attribute.
 
+The following attributes can be important for making sampling decisions
+and SHOULD be provided **at span creation time** (if provided at all):
+
+* [`gen_ai.operation.name`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`gen_ai.request.model`](/docs/registry/attributes/gen-ai.md)
+* [`server.address`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+* [`server.port`](/docs/registry/attributes/server.md)
+
 ---
 
 `error.type` has the following list of well-known values. If one of them applies, then the respective value MUST be used; otherwise, a custom value MAY be used.
diff --git a/model/gen-ai/spans.yaml b/model/gen-ai/spans.yaml
