diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/metrics.tsx b/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/metrics.tsx
index bd4f36725f37e..a886bfdaad325 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/metrics.tsx
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/metrics.tsx
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ const typeToFn: Record<string, string> = {
   max: 'aggMax',
   avg: 'aggAvg',
   sum: 'aggSum',
+  median: 'aggMedian',
 };
 
 function buildMetricOperation<T extends MetricColumn<string>>({
diff --git a/x-pack/test/functional/apps/lens/smokescreen.ts b/x-pack/test/functional/apps/lens/smokescreen.ts
index b91399a4a6756..92ea9508cf837 100644
--- a/x-pack/test/functional/apps/lens/smokescreen.ts
+++ b/x-pack/test/functional/apps/lens/smokescreen.ts
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ export default function ({ getService, getPageObjects }: FtrProviderContext) {
       await PageObjects.lens.configureDimension(
         {
           dimension: 'lnsXY_yDimensionPanel > lns-empty-dimension',
-          operation: 'avg',
+          operation: 'median',
           field: 'bytes',
         },
         1