---
title: Your team and their access
description: Invite colleagues and freelancers, and decide which kinds of rule reach them — in Vythos and in their own AI tools.
---

<span class="vy-eyebrow">Using Vythos</span>

# Your team and their access

Access in Vythos answers one question: **which kinds of rule reach this
person** — on their screen and, just as importantly, in the AI tools they use.

A category set to no access is never sent to them. Not in Ask, not in a context
pack, not in a draft check. This is what makes it safe to give a freelancer
your brand rules without giving them your rate card.

## Invite someone

Go to **Members** → *Invite team member*:

1. **Email.**
2. **Role** — this sets sensible defaults, which you can then change.
3. **Assigned clients** — leave empty for every client, or pick the accounts
   they work on.
4. **Playbook access** — a level for each of the seven
   [categories](/concepts/categories).

They get an emailed link. Invitations expire after **7 days**; send another if
one lapses. How many people you can have depends on your plan, shown on the
Members page.

## The four roles

Roles are a starting point, not a cage: every category can be changed
individually when you invite someone, and afterwards.

| Role | Who it's for | What they get by default |
|---|---|---|
| **Owner** | You. The person who created the workspace | Everything, and the only person who adds and retires rules |
| **Lead** | Account or creative lead | Every category reaches them and their AI tools |
| **Member** | Specialist — copy, design, paid media | How we work, brand, strategy and past decisions. Not pricing, terms or who decides |
| **Collaborator** | Freelancer or external partner | How we work and brand only, and only the clients you assign |

## The four levels

For each category, per person:

| Level | What it means today |
|---|---|
| **Can edit** | Adds and retires rules of this kind — **owners only for now**. For anyone else it currently behaves like *Can see* |
| **Can suggest** | Sees these rules. Suggesting changes is coming |
| **Can see** | Sees these rules, and they reach their AI tools |
| **No access** | Not shown, and never sent to their tools |

::: info Why two levels behave the same today
Only the owner has the Playbook page, so *Can edit* and *Can suggest* currently
deliver what *Can see* delivers. The distinction is kept because it's the
access you'll want the day teammates can add rules, and the invitation screen
says this plainly rather than promising something the app doesn't do yet.
:::

## What a teammate sees

- **Ask**, answering from the rules they're allowed and their own memory. Their
  conversations are their own — you can't read them, and they can't read yours.
- **Sources**, to connect their own accounts and upload their own files. What
  they upload goes into *their* memory — not yours, and not the owner's.
- **AI tools**, to connect Claude, Cursor or anything else with their own key.
  Their key carries their access: their tools receive exactly what they do.

They don't see the Playbook page, the Members page, or anyone else's memory.

## Changing access later

On **Members**, open someone's access and change any category. It takes effect
on their next question and their next context pack — there's nothing to
re-issue and no key to rotate.

## When someone leaves

There's no way to remove a person from the workspace in the app today. To stop
anything shared reaching them, open their access on **Members** and set every
kind of rule to *No access* — it takes effect on their next question and their
next context pack — then ask us to close their account.

One thing to know: **rules are read with the access of whoever added them.** If
a departing colleague added rules from their own Drive, those rules keep
working but stop following their documents once that access ends, and say so.
Add the documents again from an account that's staying. See
[When a file can't be read](/using-vythos/unreadable-files).

## Good defaults for an agency

- **Freelancers** → Collaborator, assigned to the one client they work on.
- **Employed specialists** → Member. Add *Pricing & rates* at *Can see* only if
  they quote.
- **Account leads** → Lead. They usually need terms and rates to do their job.
- **Your accountant or lawyer**, if you add them at all → Member with
  everything at no access except *Terms & commitments*.