diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/embeddable/embeddable.tsx b/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/embeddable/embeddable.tsx
index ff1af09019c1b..0a4c47d82a601 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/embeddable/embeddable.tsx
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/embeddable/embeddable.tsx
@@ -1507,6 +1507,10 @@ export class Embeddable
   }
 
   public getIsEditable() {
+    // for ES|QL, editing is allowed only if the advanced setting is on
+    if (Boolean(this.isTextBasedLanguage()) && !this.deps.uiSettings.get('discover:enableESQL')) {
+      return false;
+    }
     return (
       this.deps.capabilities.canSaveVisualizations ||
       (!this.inputIsRefType(this.getInput()) &&