# AI Gateway Pools

Pools group AI Gateway apps so they can share budgets, a starting policy chain,
and access. Each pool can have multiple members and sub-pools. Use pools to
group apps by department, product, customer, or any other logical grouping.

Pools hold [apps](./apps.mdx), not people's personal usage. People who call the
gateway with their own key use the [User App](./user-apps.mdx), which has a
per-person budget and isn't part of any pool.

## Pools & Apps

Every [app](./apps.mdx)—each service or integration that calls the AI
Gateway—belongs to exactly one pool. What a pool member may do to an app depends
on that member's role.

Pools also carry a [policy template](./policy-templates.mdx)—the policy chain
that apps created in the pool start with—and [usage limits](./usage-limits.mdx)
that apply to the pool's own usage and all descendant sub-pools and apps.

## Members

Members are the users who belong to a pool. Their permissions combine their role
in the Zuplo account, the Zuplo project that contains the AI Gateway, and the
pool.

There are two roles at the pool level:

- **Member**: Can access apps owned by the pool.
- **Admin**: Can manage the pool's settings, members, and apps.

Pool roles don't grant access to AI providers. Providers are configured for the
Zuplo project, and access to view or manage them depends on the user's Zuplo
account or Zuplo project role. A user also needs permission to view that project
before their pool role grants access to the pool's apps.

For more information on roles and permissions, see the
[document on roles and permissions](../articles/accounts/roles-and-permissions.mdx).

**Additional Resources**

- [Role Permissions](../articles/accounts/roles-and-permissions.mdx) - Details
  on Zuplo account, Zuplo project, and AI Gateway pool roles.
- [Creating & Editing Pools](./managing-pools.mdx) - How to create and edit
  pools.
- [Creating & Editing Apps](./managing-apps.mdx) - How to create, configure, and
  delete apps.