# Models

Which AI model a goal uses, how to change its default, which models its menus offer, and how to add your own provider key.

Canonical page: https://app.auto-lab.ai/docs/brain/models

Every reply in Chat and every session runs on an AI model. Auto Lab provides models to every goal, so a new goal
works without any setup. In **Brain › Models** you choose the model the goal starts with, decide which models its
menus offer, and add your own provider keys if you want more.

## What the page shows

**Brain › Models** has its own row of tabs:

| Tab | What it is for |
|---|---|
| **Providers** | Paste API keys for model providers |
| **Models** | Turn models on or off in the goal's menus, and set defaults |
| **Custom** | Connect a self-hosted or unlisted model service that works like OpenAI's API |
| **Gateway** | Create a key so a tool outside Auto Lab can call models through this goal |
| **Routing** | What happens when the default model cannot answer: a fallback model, per-model overrides and advanced settings |
| **Costs** | Spend, requests, tokens and response times for the goal's model calls, with an optional spending cap |
| **Logs** | The goal's recent model requests |

The picker at the top right of the page sets the goal's default model. It appears for goal
admins.

If the goal's **LLM Gateway** feature flag is off, the page shows only **Providers** and **Custom**, with no default
picker.

## Change the goal's default model

Open **Brain › Models** and choose a model in the default picker at the top right of the page.

Chat uses the new default from its next turn, and new sessions start with it. Chat has no model picker of its
own, so the goal's default is how you change the model Chat uses.

## How the model is chosen

Auto Lab uses the first model in this list that is set and that it can serve.

For Chat:

1. The goal's default model.
2. The organization's default model.
3. Auto Lab's default.

For a session:

1. A model picked in that session, or set on the trigger that started it.
2. The default model of the agent the session runs, set on the agent's page under **Model**.
3. The goal's default model.
4. The organization's default model.
5. Auto Lab's default.

A default that stops working, for example because its provider key was removed, is skipped. The conversation
carries on with the next model instead of failing. Some task agents, such as Research and Browser, run on a model
Auto Lab picks for their job.

To set the organization's default, open the **Models** tab, open the **⋯** menu on a model's row and choose
**Make it my default everywhere**. It applies to every goal in the organization that has no default of its own.

## Choose which models the menus offer

The **Models** tab lists every model the goal can use, with what it can do (reasoning, tools, images) and how much
text it can read at once. Each model has a switch.

- Out of the box, each model family offers only its latest model; older ones start switched off.
- Turn a model on to offer it in the goal's menus, or off to hide it.
- The goal's default model cannot be turned off. Pick a different default first.

The switches decide what the menus offer. They do not stop a model that is already set somewhere, such as on a
trigger, from running.

## Use your own provider key

### Find the provider
Open **Brain › Models › Providers** and search for the provider, for example Google or OpenRouter.

### Paste the key
Paste the API key into the provider's field. It saves when you click away.

### Check its models
Open the **Models** tab. The provider's models are listed there, and the newest ones are on.

A provider key belongs to the goal, not to you. Everyone who works on the goal uses the same key, and there are
no personal provider keys. Auto Lab stores the key as one of the goal's secrets and never shows it again. To
change it, paste a new key over it. To stop using it, select **Remove key**.

A key matters for a provider Auto Lab does not already supply. Models that Auto Lab supplies run on its own
connection, even if you add a key for the same provider.

## Pick a model for one session

In a session, the model picker in the message box switches the model for that session only. Its **Manage models**
button opens the **Providers**, **Models** and **Custom** tabs in a dialog, so you can add a key without leaving the
session.

Beside it, the **Thinking effort** control sets how much the model reasons before it answers. The choices depend on
the model, and a model without levels shows no control. **Auto** lets the model decide. Chat has neither control.