AI agents and AWS spending limits: the 90-day deletion rule

Description and use

Implementing project‑level spend limits in AWS protects against runaway costs and data loss, but requires clear ownership and backup strategies.

Problem

AI agents can deploy services that continue to accrue costs after deployment, risking runaway spending and potential data loss if spending limits are not managed.

Outcome

Implementing project‑level spend limits with clear ownership and backup procedures prevents accidental over‑spending and protects data from the 90‑day deletion rule.

Workflow

• 1. Create a project in AWS Builder Experience. 2. Set a spend limit (requires paid plan). 3. Monitor notifications at 50%, 75%, 90% or forecast. 4. When limit reached, AWS pauses the project and stops resources. 5. Within 90 days, reactivate by increasing the limit or manually restarting resources. 6. If no action, AWS permanently deletes project data.
• 7. Maintain backups outside the project to avoid data loss.

Evidence

AWS pauses your project and stops all resources. Your data is preserved.

Source

If you take no action within 90 days of your project being paused, AWS permanently deletes your project data.

Source

The minimum permitted value is the greater of $20 or a conservative estimate of likely spend.

Source

AWS sends notifications at 50%, 75% and 90% of the limit, or when the forecast indicates you will reach it within the next 10 days.

Source