Turn on client access control for your instance

task australia Updated Oct 26, 2026 1 min read ai-gw-turn-on-client-access.md

Set a system property so that AI stewards can turn on access management and create client access policies for MCP servers.

Before you begin

Role required: aig_admin

About this task

Client access control is off by default. While it's off, the Access management policy category doesn't appear on MCP server records, and AI Gateway doesn't limit clients to specific tools on any MCP server.

Procedure

In the navigation filter, enter sys_properties.list.
Search for and open the sn_awh_config.gateway_access_control_enabled property.
In the Value field, enter true.
Select Update.

Result

The Access management policy category appears on the Policies sub-tab of each MCP server's AI Gateway tab. Access management stays off for each server until an AI steward turns it on.

Important: If you later set the property to false, access management is turned off for all MCP servers connected through AI Gateway, and clients can use any active tool again. Setting the property back to true doesn't turn access management back on. An AI steward must turn it on again for each server.

What to do next

To start limiting clients on an MCP server, see Create a client access policy and Turn access management on or off for an MCP server.

Keywords client access controlaccess managementsystem property

47 lines · 2.2 KB Wrap lines

---
title: Turn on client access control for your instance
description: Set a system property so that AI stewards can turn on access management and create client access policies for MCP servers.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/intelligent-experiences/ai-gw-turn-on-client-access.html
release: australia
topic_type: task
last_updated: "2026-10-26"
reading_time_minutes: 1
keywords: [client access control, access management, system property]
breadcrumb: [Control client access, Configure, AI Gateway, Configure, AI Control Tower, Establishing AI governance, Enable AI Experiences]
---

# Turn on client access control for your instance

Set a system property so that AI stewards can turn on access management and create client access policies for MCP servers.

## Before you begin

Role required: aig\_admin

## About this task

Client access control is off by default. While it's off, the **Access management** policy category doesn't appear on MCP server records, and AI Gateway doesn't limit clients to specific tools on any MCP server.

## Procedure

1. In the navigation filter, enter `sys_properties.list`.

2. Search for and open the **sn\_awh\_config.gateway\_access\_control\_enabled** property.

3. In the **Value** field, enter `true`.

4. Select **Update**.

## Result

The **Access management** policy category appears on the **Policies** sub-tab of each MCP server's **AI Gateway** tab. Access management stays off for each server until an AI steward turns it on.

**Important:** If you later set the property to `false`, access management is turned off for all MCP servers connected through AI Gateway, and clients can use any active tool again. Setting the property back to `true` doesn't turn access management back on. An AI steward must turn it on again for each server.

## What to do next

To start limiting clients on an MCP server, see [Create a client access policy](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/intelligent-experiences/ai-gw-create-client-access-policy.md) and [Turn access management on or off for an MCP server](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/intelligent-experiences/ai-gw-turn-access-management.md).