--- title: "AI Activate - Activate Your Content" slug: "ai-activate-activate-your-content" description: "Activate your volume to manage Content Activated Files and Metadata Only Files, ensuring your AI tool references the right content efficiently." updated: 2026-10-13T21:01:39Z published: 2026-10-13T21:01:39Z canonical: "docs.nasuni.com/ai-activate-activate-your-content" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nasuni.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # AI Activate - Activate Your Content Activation reads the content of the files in your scope, so that your AI tool can draw on what the files contain. You activate a volume from the volume's scoping view, right after you [set your scope](/v1/docs/ai-activate-volume-inventory-and-scoping#scope-the-volume). Activation then runs in the background. ## Start activation In the scoping view, with your scope set, activate the volume: 1. Click the **Activate Volume** button. ![Settings for including and excluding directories in AI Activate Subscription management.](https://cdn.document360.io/2adf6ce2-c120-4520-b135-0fc4463ddde3/Images/Documentation/Screenshot 2026-09-21 at 10.52.58.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-10-15T02%3A37%3A07Z&se=2026-10-15T03%3A37%3A07Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=0nJlImDTMYuqT13ls73ru%2BUJS2LXAwzb5YR9V5U9aa4%3D) Before activation begins, the Portal checks that you have enough capacity for your estimated Content Activated Files. - If you have enough capacity, activation begins. - If you do not have enough capacity, you cannot start. The Portal shows the estimated capacity required against the capacity you hold, and blocks activation until you have enough. **If activation is blocked.** Take your estimate to your Nasuni account team and acquire the capacity you need. Unless you activate, the Portal does not save your scope. When you return, set your scope again and activate. See [Run an inventory](/v1/docs/ai-activate-volume-inventory-and-scoping) and [scope your content](/v1/docs/ai-activate-volume-inventory-and-scoping#scope-the-volume). ## Monitor activation Activation runs asynchronously, in the same way as the Volume Inventory. - The volume shows **Activation In Progress** until activation finishes. - Check the volume's status in the Portal until the volume shows **Active**. For the full set of statuses a volume can show, see [Volume statuses](/v1/docs/ai-activate-overview#volume-statuses). ![](https://cdn.document360.io/2adf6ce2-c120-4520-b135-0fc4463ddde3/Images/Documentation/activation-dashboard-activated-volumes-overview.png?sv=2026-02-06&spr=https&st=2026-10-15T02%3A37%3A07Z&se=2026-10-15T03%3A37%3A07Z&sr=c&sp=r&sig=0nJlImDTMYuqT13ls73ru%2BUJS2LXAwzb5YR9V5U9aa4%3D) ## What activation does Activation divides the files in your scope into two groups: - **Content Activated Files**. Files with activated content. Your AI tool can reference the contents of Content Activated Files, which count toward your subscription billing. - **Metadata Only Files**. Files whose content is not activated: the format does not support content activation, the file is larger than 100 MB, the content exists only as an image (such as a scanned PDF), or activation is not possible for the file. Metadata Only Files stay in scope and remain visible to your AI tool by name, the folder they are in, and attributes, at no charge. See the [Supported File Types Reference](/v1/docs/ai-activate-supported-file-types). Your actual number of Content Activated Files after activation is what counts against your subscribed capacity. The final number can differ from your estimate, and if files are added to the volume after you scope it, the final number can exceed both your estimate and your subscribed capacity. If the final number exceeds your subscribed capacity, AI Activate does not stop or hold back activation. The overage counts as organic growth, and your Nasuni account team follows up to expand your subscription, so that your capacity matches your usage. ## Keeping content current After your initial activation, AI Activate keeps your content current automatically. When new versions of your volume are committed to the cloud, AI Activate activates new and changed files. If a file was recently added or edited, the file appears after the next activation pass and might take a short time to become available to your AI tool. You do not need to run activation again for ongoing changes. As your content grows over time, your Content Activated Files can grow past your subscribed capacity. Growth beyond your subscribed capacity is the same organic growth described above: your service continues, and your account team works with you to expand your subscription. For managing your scope and capacity later, see [Change Your Setup](/v1/docs/ai-activate-change-your-setup). Permission changes to a file follow the same timing. A file's permissions are captured when it is activated, so a change to a file's permissions takes effect for AI results after that file is next activated, not immediately. Group membership changes take effect in near real time. For how AI Activate enforces permissions, see [Understanding Permission Enforcement](/v1/docs/ai-activate-understanding-permission-enforcement). ## Next After activation completes, turn on MCP access to make the volume available to your AI tool. See [Enable MCP Access and Connect your AI tool](/v1/docs/ai-activate-enable-mcp-access-and-connect-your-ai-tool).