Introduction
Ledgy's AI settings let company admins control whether AI tools — including the Ledgy Agent and external AI apps connected via MCP — can read and change your company's data. This article explains where to find these settings, who can change them, and what each option does.
Ledgy Agent and Ledgy MCP are both currently free to use while in beta. As we develop their functionality, we may introduce a priced offering. Beta access now will not guarantee continued free access later. This is still beta functionality, so please report any feedback you have. Access to the AI functionality company-wide can only be enabled by Owners or Collaborators with the Manage AI settings permission. Neither feature is a source of legal or tax advice and AI output should be verified by an independent adviser before use.
Where to find AI settings
Open your company and go to Company Settings.
In the right-hand column (alongside SSO, Security, and other cards), find the AI settings card, marked with a sparkles icon.
The card shows the current status (Enabled / Disabled) of each AI feature. To make changes, click the pencil (edit) icon to open the AI settings dialog.
Note: The AI settings card is available depending on your Ledgy plan. If you don't see it, your plan may not include these AI features. Contact your account manager if you have questions about availability.
Who can change AI settings
Viewing: Anyone who can view the company can see the current AI settings status.
Editing: You need the “Manage AI settings” permission to change them. This permission lets a user enable and configure AI features, including the Ledgy Agent and external AI integrations.
By default, this permission is granted to the Owner role. Admins and other roles do not have it unless it's added to their role. You can grant or remove this permission under Roles (Company Settings → Collaborators → Roles).
Important: AI in Ledgy always respects each user's existing permissions and can never exceed them. Enabling an AI feature does not give it access beyond what the individual user is already allowed to see or do. You manage those underlying permissions in Roles.
What each setting does
Each AI feature has its own on/off switch. When a feature is on, you set two levels of access using the Allow (tick) and Deny (block) buttons: Read access and Make changes.
Make changes can only be allowed when Read access is allowed.
If you deny Read access, Make changes is denied too.
If you switch a feature off, both are turned off.
Turning a feature on
When you switch a feature on, a confirmation window opens (Enable Ledgy Agent or Enable External AI apps). Choose Read access or Make changes, then click Enable. Your choice applies to all collaborators in the company, and each collaborator's own Ledgy permissions still apply.
Ledgy Agent
The Ledgy Agent is an AI assistant that can read and modify your company data based on its permissions.
When you enable the Ledgy Agent, you can control two levels of access:
Control | What it does |
Read access | Ledgy Agent can view company data. It can't change anything. |
Make changes | Ledgy Agent can also add and edit data. It asks before each change. |
When Ledgy Agent is switched off, you can also turn on Hide Ledgy Agent from the sidebar.
External AI apps (via MCP)
This setting allows external AI applications to access your company data via MCP (Model Context Protocol) — an open standard that lets third-party AI tools connect to Ledgy.
Control | What it does |
Read access | Connected AI apps can view company data. They can't change anything. |
Make changes | Connected AI apps can also add and edit data. Each collaborator turns this on when they connect an app. |
Make changes is off by default. Connected AI apps can only read data until someone with the Manage AI settings permission allows it.
Allowing Make changes doesn't give anyone write access automatically. Each collaborator still has to switch on Make changes when they connect their AI app. See How does Ledgy MCP work?
AI apps make changes on behalf of the collaborator who connected them, within that collaborator's permissions. Your organisation is responsible for these changes.
Every change made by an AI app is recorded in Ledgy's change logs with the collaborator's name and the AI app, for example "Jane Doe via Ledgy MCP (Claude)".
Already connected? Collaborators who connected an AI app before you allowed Make changes can only read data with it. To allow changes, they need to connect the app again. Ledgy shows this note in the dialog as soon as you allow Make changes.
If you later set Make changes to Deny, connected AI apps lose the ability to make changes straight away. They keep read access.
The dialog has two links, “How to connect via MCP” and “What can AI apps change?”. Both open our guide: How does Ledgy MCP work?
Important: Make changes lets connected AI apps add and edit records in Ledgy, such as stakeholders, custom fields, share classes and vesting presets. At the moment, they can't delete data, publish transactions, send emails or invitations, or move money.
Saving your changes
After adjusting your settings, click Save. You'll see a confirmation that your AI settings were updated.
Frequently asked questions
Why can my colleague's AI app still only read data?
Why can my colleague's AI app still only read data?
They connected before Make changes was allowed, or didn't switch on Make changes when connecting. Ask them to connect the app again.
Can external AI apps delete or publish data?
Can external AI apps delete or publish data?
Not at the moment. External AI apps can add and edit selected records, but they can't delete data, create or publish transactions, send emails or invitations, or move money.