diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/data-frame/qa/single-node-tests/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/dataframe/integration/DataFramePivotRestIT.java b/x-pack/plugin/data-frame/qa/single-node-tests/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/dataframe/integration/DataFramePivotRestIT.java
index a0bec6ec13c34..46ed16542ab5b 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/data-frame/qa/single-node-tests/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/dataframe/integration/DataFramePivotRestIT.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/data-frame/qa/single-node-tests/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/dataframe/integration/DataFramePivotRestIT.java
@@ -251,10 +251,10 @@ public void testPreviewTransform() throws Exception {
 
         config += " \"pivot\": {"
             + "   \"group_by\": {"
-            + "     \"reviewer\": {\"terms\": { \"field\": \"user_id\" }},"
+            + "     \"user.id\": {\"terms\": { \"field\": \"user_id\" }},"
             + "     \"by_day\": {\"date_histogram\": {\"fixed_interval\": \"1d\",\"field\":\"timestamp\",\"format\":\"yyyy-MM-dd\"}}},"
             + "   \"aggregations\": {"
-            + "     \"avg_rating\": {"
+            + "     \"user.avg_rating\": {"
             + "       \"avg\": {"
             + "         \"field\": \"stars\""
             + " } } } }"
@@ -265,10 +265,14 @@ public void testPreviewTransform() throws Exception {
         List<Map<String, Object>> preview = (List<Map<String, Object>>)previewDataframeResponse.get("preview");
         // preview is limited to 100
         assertThat(preview.size(), equalTo(100));
-        Set<String> expectedFields = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList("reviewer", "by_day", "avg_rating"));
+        Set<String> expectedTopLevelFields = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList("user", "by_day"));
+        Set<String> expectedNestedFields = new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList("id", "avg_rating"));
         preview.forEach(p -> {
             Set<String> keys = p.keySet();
-            assertThat(keys, equalTo(expectedFields));
+            assertThat(keys, equalTo(expectedTopLevelFields));
+            Map<String, Object> nestedObj = (Map<String, Object>)p.get("user");
+            keys = nestedObj.keySet();
+            assertThat(keys, equalTo(expectedNestedFields));
         });
     }
 
diff --git a/x-pack/plugin/data-frame/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/dataframe/transforms/pivot/AggregationResultUtils.java b/x-pack/plugin/data-frame/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/dataframe/transforms/pivot/AggregationResultUtils.java
index f8857591b2322..6201dd936ba19 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugin/data-frame/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/dataframe/transforms/pivot/AggregationResultUtils.java
+++ b/x-pack/plugin/data-frame/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/xpack/dataframe/transforms/pivot/AggregationResultUtils.java
@@ -61,7 +61,7 @@ public static Stream<Map<String, Object>> extractCompositeAggregationResults(Com
             groups.getGroups().keySet().forEach(destinationFieldName -> {
                 Object value = bucket.getKey().get(destinationFieldName);
                 idGen.add(destinationFieldName, value);
-                document.put(destinationFieldName, value);
+                updateDocument(document, destinationFieldName, value);
             });
 
             List<String> aggNames = aggregationBuilders.stream().map(AggregationBuilder::getName).collect(Collectors.toList());