1. A home assistant device, comprising: a camera; one or more processors; and memory storing instructions, wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions such that the processor and memory are configured to: operate the home assistant device in a passive experience mode, the passive experience mode corresponding to the home assistant device providing a first response to a first speech based on the first speech not including a hardware activation phrase; determine characteristics of an environment of the home assistant device using the camera, the characteristics of the environment including determining that a user is engaged with playback of media content in the environment; and switch operation of the home assistant device from the passive experience mode to an active experience mode based on the determined characteristics including that the user is engaged with the playback of the media content, the active experience mode corresponding to the home assistant device providing a second response to a second speech, the second speech including the hardware activation phrase.