Control the Layer agent and its spending

Last updated: October 26, 2026

Decide whether your team can use the Layer agent and each of its subagents, and how much a job can cost before the agent asks first.

Before you start

Steps

  1. Open Settings and select Agents under AI Controls. The page lists the Layer agent and each of its subagents, each with Inherit, On and Off.

  2. Set a subagent the team should not use to Off. To turn the whole agent off, set Layer agent to Off instead.

  3. Under Spend confirmation, choose Set next to Ask before spending more than.

  4. Enter the amount, in Creative Units, above which the agent asks before it runs a job. 0 asks before every job.

  5. Select Save.

Result

A subagent you turn off is not available to anyone in the workspace. With the Layer agent switch off, nobody can start a chat session with the agent at all. The agent asks for approval before any job that costs more than the amount you set, and runs cheaper jobs straight away.

At other levels

The same controls can be set for a project, a group or one member, on Enterprise. A project can lock them for everyone working in it. Where a member's groups disagree, the more permissive setting wins, so the higher spend confirmation amount applies. See AI controls.

Production tips

  • Set 0 to review every job. With Ask before spending more than at 0, the agent asks before each job, which suits a team learning the agent or a tight budget.

  • Raise the amount for trusted teams. Set a higher amount on a group that runs large batches, so they are not interrupted, and keep the workspace's lower.

  • Pair it with usage limits. Spend confirmation asks before a job; a usage limit caps what a group or member can spend in a month. See Set a usage limit for a group.

  • Check a member's agent. Preview as a member on the Agents page shows which subagents one person gets and their spend confirmation amount.

If something goes wrong

  • A teammate cannot start a chat with the agent. The Layer agent is off for the workspace, a project, their groups or them. Check with Preview as a member.

  • The switches are greyed out. A parent workspace locked them (Locked by the ... workspace).

  • The agent asks before every job. The spend confirmation amount in force for that person is 0 or very low.

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