Processing region
The processing region decides where the AI models in your workspace may process prompts. Admins set it once for the whole workspace. Models outside the region are then unavailable to everyone.
Last checked on 28 September 2026
On this page
What the region controls
The processing region is a setting for the whole workspace. Admins find it on the Models page under Processing region. It decides in which region a model may process your team's prompts, attachments and replies.
A model whose processing lies outside the chosen region disappears everywhere: in the model picker, as the default model and as a fallback when another model fails. Custodos therefore never switches silently to a model outside the region.
Members see the chosen region in their account under How your data is handled here. The region governs processing by the models. Custodos stores accounts, chats, files, Company Brain and backups in Switzerland, whatever the region. The details are set out in the data processing agreement.
The four settings
New workspaces start on EU + Switzerland. Custodos never sets Global on its own; an admin has to choose it deliberately.
| Setting | Which models can be chosen | Note |
|---|---|---|
| EU + Switzerland | models processing in the EU or in Switzerland | default, marked as recommended in the app |
| European Union | only models processing in the EU | models processing in Switzerland are hidden |
| Switzerland | only models processing in Switzerland | models processing in the EU are hidden |
| Global | all models, including those on a provider's worldwide infrastructure | no commitment on where processing happens |
Changing the region
- 1
Open the Models page
As an admin, click Models in the sidebar. - 2
Choose the region
Under Processing region, pick one of the four settings. The change applies from the next message, including in chats already under way. - 3
Check the models
Models outside the new region are marked Out of region and cannot be allowed. Below that you decide which models your team may use, see Managing models.
Residency grades of the models
In the model picker, every model shows where it is processed. On the Models page, every model also shows its residency grade. The grade tells you how the processing location can be checked. Where a model says “Hosted in the EU”, the provider does not fix the exact country and may serve from any of its EU regions.
| Grade | What it means |
|---|---|
| Enforced | The provider's endpoint itself refuses traffic outside the boundary. The location cannot change without anyone noticing. |
| Verified | The endpoint is tied to one region, and Custodos can check the location independently: its addresses fall within the provider's published ranges for that region. |
| Contractual | The region is set on every request and the provider commits to it by contract. It cannot be measured independently from the response. |
What else the region affects
The region determines which models are on offer and which features are available, such as web search and image generation. What counts is always the region your workspace has chosen.
Custodos shows what is available directly in the app: the model picker lists only models that lie within the region and that your admin has allowed. If a feature is not available in your region, the app does not offer it in the chat or points this out; admins see the reason in the settings. The models on offer and how to choose one are described under Models.
When the region does not apply
- Global adds models with no commitment on the processing location. Models in the Global group run on the respective provider's worldwide infrastructure.
- The region governs the models, not storage at Custodos: Custodos stores your data in Switzerland. The details are set out in the data processing agreement.
- With web search, only the search query the model writes goes to a European search index. The location of that index does not depend on the models' region. Details are under Web search.
Read next
Still have a question? Write to us.