diff --git a/explore-analyze/visualize/lens.md b/explore-analyze/visualize/lens.md
index ba1ab07130..4ef5f96810 100644
--- a/explore-analyze/visualize/lens.md
+++ b/explore-analyze/visualize/lens.md
@@ -13,8 +13,15 @@ products:
 
 # Lens [lens]
 
+**Lens** is {{kib}}'s drag-and-drop visualization builder. It lets you create charts without writing queries: You drag fields onto the canvas, and {{kib}} suggests the best visualization types for your data.
 
-To create a visualization, drag the data fields you want to visualize to the workspace, then **Lens** uses visualization best practices to apply the fields and create a visualization that best displays the data.
+These fields come from your data indices stored in {{es}}. When you bring data into {{es}}, like logs, metrics, or business data, each piece of information becomes a field: timestamps, user names, error codes, sales amounts, and so on.
+
+Lens doesn't directly look into your {{es}} indices. You first need to specify a [data view](/explore-analyze/find-and-organize/data-views.md) that tells {{kib}} which indices to look at. When you open Lens and select a data view, you see all the fields from that data as a list you can drag and drop to build visualizations.
+
+:::{tip}
+If you collected data using one of the {{kib}} [ingest options](/manage-data/ingest.md), uploaded a file, or added sample data, you likely have a {{data-source}} created automatically, and can start exploring your data. If not, you must create one yourself.
+:::
 
 With **Lens**, you can:
 
@@ -26,7 +33,7 @@ With **Lens**, you can:
 * Add annotations and reference lines.
 
 
-### Create visualizations [create-the-visualization-panel]
+## Create visualizations [create-the-visualization-panel]
 
 If you’re unsure about the visualization type you want to use, or how you want to display the data, drag the fields you want to visualize onto the workspace, then let **Lens** choose for you.