In various embodiments, a natural language (NL) application implements functionality that enables users to more effectively access various data storage systems based on NL requests. As described, the operations of the NL application are guided by, at least in part, on one or more templates and/or machine-learning models. Advantageously, the templates and/or machine-learning models provide a flexible framework that may be readily tailored to reduce the amount of time and user effort associated with processing NL requests and to increase the overall accuracy of NL application implementations.