Generation says it isn't configured
You are almost certainly in the metered lane. The free one is one row further down the same menu, and it is the one most accounts should be using.
First: check which lane you wanted
The Content section has two boxes, and they are grouped by cost rather than by what they do:
If what you wanted was “get an AI to write nodes for my lens”, that is Import plus Lens skill — the free pair. You bring a model you already pay for, the app never makes a call, and nothing is metered because nothing is spent.
If you did mean the metered lane
Two things have to be true before a hosted call happens, and they are checked in this order:
- Hosted AI is switched on for your account. It is off by default and nothing turns it on for you. Account menu → AI & Privacy.
- Your plan includes units. The free plan has none — so metered here means unavailable rather than cheaper.
Matching the message
| What it says | What it means |
|---|---|
| “Hosted generation isn't configured on this deployment” | Nothing to do with your account. This deployment has no model key at all, so the metered lane is switched off for everybody on it. The free lane still works. |
| “Hosted AI is off for this account” | The switch, and the one you can act on. AI & Privacy → turn it on, and choose a scope while you are there. |
| Something about your allowance or limit | You are out of units. Note that this message comes after the consent check, so if you are seeing it, hosted AI is already on — you are not one toggle away. |
| “temporarily unavailable. Nothing was charged” | A ceiling above your account, not your account. Try later; nothing was spent. |
| “Sign in to generate” | Your session expired. Sign in again. |
Turning hosted AI on
Account menu → AI & Privacy. As well as the switch you pick a scope, which decides how much of your graph a model may read: session only, which is the default and sends nothing but what you type, or graph-aware, which lets it use your existing entries as context.
Whichever you choose, nodes you have marked restricted are never sent. That floor is in the code path every model call passes through, not in a settings row. What leaves this app has the detail.
Related
- Bring your own AI — the free lane, in full.
- Generate and weave with hosted AI — what the metered lane actually does, once it is on.
- Add your first nodes — all four ways in, with costs.