# Conduct an CloudWatch investigation without additional configuration


You can conduct a CloudWatch investigations AI-powered root cause analysis without any additional configuration of your AWS account using the **Investigations** feature available in **Operational troubleshooting**. 

These investigations provide instant access to CloudWatch investigations capabilities from commonly used telemetry sources in the AWS console. This type of investigation is session-based, read-only, and automatically deleted after 24 hours.

The investigation pane provides you:
+ **AI-generated observations** - Telemetry that fans out from your initial observation you provided to locate additional supporting data that can lead to a potential root cause.
+ **Root cause hypotheses** - Potential explanations for what's causing the problem, including causal diagrams when multiple resources are involved
+ **Natural language explanations** - Easy-to-understand descriptions of findings and recommendations

You can use the suggestions from the investigation pane to help accelerate your troubleshooting process.

## To start an investigation


1. Navigate to any supported telemetry source showing an issue you want to investigate, such as:
   + A CloudWatch metric showing unusual patterns
   + A CloudWatch alarm in ALARM state
   + A Lambda function's monitoring tab showing performance issues

1. In **Operational troubleshooting**, choose the **Investigate** tab, then choose **Start investigation**. 

1. Watch as CloudWatch investigations analyzes your telemetry and generates insights about potential root causes.

1. (Optional) To add additional telemetry sources or collaborate on the investigation with others, choose **Get started** in the information box at the bottom of the **Investigate** tab. You'll be guided through the investigation group configuration process. For more information, see [Configure CloudWatch investigations](Investigations-GetStarted.md) 
**Important**  
You must have the appropriate IAM permissions to create or access investigation groups. Users with read-only permissions will see information about requesting additional permissions from their administrators.