> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nextintent.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Watch mode and active mode

> The two modes NextIntent runs in: watch mode records what it would have said and shows nothing, active mode shows the sentence to stuck shoppers and is billed. How to switch, and what changes.

NextIntent has two modes and one switch between them. In watch mode it reads every visit, notices every stuck shopper, decides what it would say, and shows nothing. In active mode it shows that sentence. Everything else, the reports, the reasons, the record of each moment, is the same in both.

## Watch mode

**Where:** **Settings → What NextIntent may do → Messages** is off. This is how every store starts.

**What it does:** reads visits, spots the moments, composes the sentence, and writes each moment to **Moments** with the sentence it would have said and the label "Left alone, nothing shown". **Reasons** fills in with why shoppers stalled. **Money** shows what those shoppers bought on their own, which becomes the baseline for the comparison later.

**What it costs:** nothing. Watch mode is free for as long as you like, with no trial period and no date it stops.

**Why it exists:** so you can see, in your own store, what the app would say and to whom before any shopper sees it. Most apps in this category show something to shoppers the moment they are installed. Merchants complain about that in reviews. Watch mode is the answer: you turn Messages on when you have read enough moments to trust the sentence.

See [Watch mode](/shopify/how-it-works/watch-mode) for how to read the record it builds.

## Active mode

**Where:** the same switch, turned on.

**What it does:** everything watch mode does, and the sentence is shown to the shopper. A random share of stuck shoppers is still left alone, on purpose, so Money can compare. See [Held back to compare](/shopify/how-it-works/held-back).

**What it costs:** 5% of orders from shoppers NextIntent spoke to, when the order comes within seven days of the moment. Nothing else. Charged through Shopify under a monthly cap you approve. See [Pricing](/shopify/billing/pricing).

## Switching on

1. Open **Settings → What NextIntent may do**.
2. Under **Messages**, press **Turn on**.
3. The first time, Shopify opens its approval page at the top of the window. It shows the plan (5% of credited orders) and the cap (\$250 a month to start). Approve it.
4. You land back on Settings. Messages shows "Live. Stuck shoppers can be spoken to."

If Shopify cannot approve the charge because there is no payment method on the store, add one under **Settings → Billing** in Shopify and try again. See [See your charges](/shopify/billing/see-your-charges).

## Switching off

Press **Turn off** under Messages. The store is back in watch mode at once. The plan stays approved, so turning on again does not go through Shopify's page a second time. Nothing is charged while Messages is off, because nothing is shown and so no order can be credited.

## The On-page card switch

Under Messages there is a second switch, **On-page card**. Messages decides whether NextIntent speaks at all; the card decides whether it speaks with its own card on the page. With Messages on and the card off, the app can still speak through your popup tool or a browser event if you chose one of those on **Settings → What it may say**. For most stores both switches are on.

## What happens at the cap

If the month's charges reach your cap, active mode pauses on its own and the store drops back to watch mode until you raise the cap. Home and Settings show what the pause is costing you. See [The cap](/shopify/billing/the-cap).

## Related

* [Watch mode](/shopify/how-it-works/watch-mode)
* [Pricing](/shopify/billing/pricing)
* [Switches](/shopify/settings/switches)
* [Held back to compare](/shopify/how-it-works/held-back)