diff --git a/x-pack/platform/plugins/shared/inference/common/tasks/nl_to_esql/non_ast/correct_common_esql_mistakes.test.ts b/x-pack/platform/plugins/shared/inference/common/tasks/nl_to_esql/non_ast/correct_common_esql_mistakes.test.ts
index 9d4b064b35f61..523b2dc9a68e1 100644
--- a/x-pack/platform/plugins/shared/inference/common/tasks/nl_to_esql/non_ast/correct_common_esql_mistakes.test.ts
+++ b/x-pack/platform/plugins/shared/inference/common/tasks/nl_to_esql/non_ast/correct_common_esql_mistakes.test.ts
@@ -215,4 +215,19 @@ describe('correctCommonEsqlMistakes', () => {
       | STATS success_rate = AVG(successful)`,
     });
   });
+
+  it('escapes special characters in column names', () => {
+    expectQuery({
+      input: `FROM "custom-test"
+| STATS
+    count = COUNT(*),
+    min = MIN("Total Bytes"),
+    max = MAX("Total Bytes"),
+    avg = AVG("Total Bytes"),
+    sum = SUM("Total Bytes")
+`,
+      expectedOutput: `FROM "custom-test"
+| STATS count = COUNT(*), min = MIN(\`Total Bytes\`), max = MAX(\`Total Bytes\`), avg = AVG(\`Total Bytes\`), sum = SUM(\`Total Bytes\`)`,
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/x-pack/platform/plugins/shared/inference/common/tasks/nl_to_esql/non_ast/correct_common_esql_mistakes.ts b/x-pack/platform/plugins/shared/inference/common/tasks/nl_to_esql/non_ast/correct_common_esql_mistakes.ts
index 0d4d13b61152a..00799d063f343 100644
--- a/x-pack/platform/plugins/shared/inference/common/tasks/nl_to_esql/non_ast/correct_common_esql_mistakes.ts
+++ b/x-pack/platform/plugins/shared/inference/common/tasks/nl_to_esql/non_ast/correct_common_esql_mistakes.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@
  * 2.0.
  */
 
+import { scalarFunctionDefinitions } from '@kbn/esql-validation-autocomplete/src/definitions/generated/scalar_functions';
+import { aggregationFunctionDefinitions } from '@kbn/esql-validation-autocomplete/src/definitions/generated/aggregation_functions';
+import type { FunctionDefinition } from '@kbn/esql-validation-autocomplete';
+import { memoize } from 'lodash';
+
 const STRING_DELIMITER_TOKENS = ['`', "'", '"'];
 const ESCAPE_TOKEN = '\\\\';
 
@@ -94,6 +99,62 @@ function removeColumnQuotesAndEscape(column: string) {
   return '`' + plainColumnIdentifier + '`';
 }
 
+const getFunctionDefinitionMap = memoize(() => {
+  const functionDefinitionMap = new Map<string, FunctionDefinition>();
+  const allFunctionDefinitions = [...scalarFunctionDefinitions, ...aggregationFunctionDefinitions];
+  allFunctionDefinitions.forEach((definition) => {
+    const functionName = definition.name.toLowerCase();
+    if (!functionDefinitionMap.has(functionName)) {
+      functionDefinitionMap.set(functionName, definition);
+    }
+  });
+  return functionDefinitionMap;
+});
+
+/**
+ * Replaces quotes for fields in function argument if present.
+ * @example
+ * Example 1: Without quotes
+ * escapeColumnsInFunctions('MIN(total_bytes)'); // 'MIN(total_bytes)'
+ *
+ * @example
+ * Example 2: With quotes
+ * escapeColumnsInFunctions('MIN("Total Bytes")'); // 'MIN(`Total Bytes`)'
+ */
+function escapeColumnsInFunctions(string: string): string {
+  const regex = /([A-Za-z_]+)\s*\(([^()]*?)\)/g;
+
+  return string.replace(regex, (match: string, functionName: string, args: string) => {
+    const functionDefinition = getFunctionDefinitionMap().get(functionName.toLowerCase());
+    if (!functionDefinition) {
+      // function definition not found, return the original match
+      return match;
+    }
+
+    const escapedArgs = args.length
+      ? args
+          .split(',')
+          .map((arg, index) => {
+            const trimmedArg = arg.trim();
+            // Only escape field names
+            const paramName = functionDefinition.signatures[0].params[index]?.name;
+            if (paramName !== 'field' && paramName !== 'number') {
+              // It should be just a field, but some functions like SUM and AVG have a "number" name 🤷‍♂️
+              return trimmedArg;
+            }
+            // If the string is not wrapped in quotes, return it as is
+            if (!trimmedArg.match(/^["'].*["']$/)) {
+              return trimmedArg;
+            }
+            return removeColumnQuotesAndEscape(trimmedArg);
+          })
+          .join(', ')
+      : args;
+
+    return `${functionName}(${escapedArgs})`;
+  });
+}
+
 function replaceAsKeywordWithAssignments(command: string) {
   return command.replaceAll(/^STATS\s*(.*)/g, (__, statsOperations: string) => {
     return `STATS ${statsOperations.replaceAll(
@@ -113,10 +174,12 @@ function escapeColumns(line: string) {
   const escapedBody = split(body.trim(), ',')
     .map((statement) => {
       const [lhs, rhs] = split(statement, '=');
+
       if (!rhs) {
         return lhs;
       }
-      return `${removeColumnQuotesAndEscape(lhs)} = ${rhs}`;
+      const escapedRhs = escapeColumnsInFunctions(rhs);
+      return `${removeColumnQuotesAndEscape(lhs)} = ${escapedRhs}`;
     })
     .join(', ');