diff --git a/x-pack/elastic-agent/pkg/core/plugin/app/monitoring/beats/beats_monitor.go b/x-pack/elastic-agent/pkg/core/plugin/app/monitoring/beats/beats_monitor.go
index f1fb92d3a71..4d6a000408f 100644
--- a/x-pack/elastic-agent/pkg/core/plugin/app/monitoring/beats/beats_monitor.go
+++ b/x-pack/elastic-agent/pkg/core/plugin/app/monitoring/beats/beats_monitor.go
@@ -18,15 +18,21 @@ import (
 
 const httpPlusPrefix = "http+"
 
+var defaultMonitoringConfig = monitoringConfig.MonitoringConfig{
+	Enabled:        true,
+	MonitorLogs:    true,
+	MonitorMetrics: true,
+}
+
 type wrappedConfig struct {
-	MonitoringConfig *monitoringConfig.MonitoringConfig `config:"settings.monitoring" yaml:"settings.monitoring"`
+	MonitoringConfig monitoringConfig.MonitoringConfig `config:"settings.monitoring" yaml:"settings.monitoring"`
 }
 
 // Monitor is a monitoring interface providing information about the way
 // how beat is monitored
 type Monitor struct {
 	operatingSystem string
-	config          *monitoringConfig.MonitoringConfig
+	config          monitoringConfig.MonitoringConfig
 	installPath     string
 }
 
@@ -35,21 +41,21 @@ func NewMonitor(downloadConfig *artifact.Config) *Monitor {
 	return &Monitor{
 		operatingSystem: downloadConfig.OS(),
 		installPath:     downloadConfig.InstallPath,
-		config:          &monitoringConfig.MonitoringConfig{},
+		config:          defaultMonitoringConfig,
 	}
 }
 
 // Reload reloads state of the monitoring based on config.
 func (b *Monitor) Reload(rawConfig *config.Config) error {
-	cfg := &wrappedConfig{}
+	cfg := &wrappedConfig{
+		MonitoringConfig: defaultMonitoringConfig,
+	}
 	if err := rawConfig.Unpack(&cfg); err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	if cfg == nil || cfg.MonitoringConfig == nil {
-		b.config = &monitoringConfig.MonitoringConfig{}
-	} else {
-		b.config = cfg.MonitoringConfig
+	if cfg == nil {
+		b.config = defaultMonitoringConfig
 	}
 
 	return nil