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 an active experience mode, the active experience mode corresponding to the home assistant device providing a first response to first speech based on the first speech including a hardware activation phrase indicating an expectation of a user providing the first speech to receive the first response responsive to the first speech; determine characteristics of an environment of the home assistant device using the camera, the characteristics of the environment including determining that the user is looking at or towards the home assistant device; and switch operation of the home assistant device from the active experience mode to a passive experience mode based on the determined characteristics, the passive experience mode corresponding to the home assistant device providing a second response to second speech, the second speech not including the hardware activation phrase.