# Licenses and sites

> One license covers one site. How to move a license, what applies to copies and staging sites, and what your site sends to the update service.

A license key covers one site. When you move a site, copy it or build a staging version, the key follows simple rules. This page also says in a few words what your site sends to the PowerWP update service.

## One license, one site

A key is activated on one site at a time. Activating it takes one of the key's site seats. **PowerWP AI › License** shows "Sites 1 of 1" for a single-site plan, and **My account › Licenses** lists the sites that use each key.

Activating the same key again on the same site takes no extra seat. Plans differ in the number of AI connections, not the number of sites, so a second site needs a second license. There is no volume discount or agency plan: each site has its own plan, and the Free plan is one per customer. For many sites, [write to us](/contact/).

## Move a license to another site

:::steps
1. On the old site open **PowerWP AI › License** and select **Deactivate on this site**. Confirm the question. This frees the seat.
2. On the new site install the plugin and open **PowerWP AI › License**.
3. Paste the key and select **Activate**.
:::

Deactivating the license does not revoke the site's AI connections, but without a key they can only read, and no new ones can be added until a key is active again.

The seat is also given back when you deactivate or delete the plugin. If you activate the plugin again, it takes the seat again shortly afterwards. Using **Use another key** on a site gives back the seat of the key it replaces.

If **powerwp.ai** cannot be reached when you deactivate, the key is removed from the site but its seat stays taken. The screen tells you so. Try again later, or contact support. If the old site is gone completely, contact support too.

## Copies, staging and local sites

- **Local development sites** on `localhost`, `127.0.0.1`, `::1` or names ending in `.localhost`, `.test`, `.local`, `.example` or `.invalid` need a license key like any other site (since plugin 1.6.3). A paid plan covers one local copy without using up its site (a second local copy counts as a site), and the plan’s connection limit applies there too. A local copy of your site is a safe place to try large changes.
- **A copy on a public address** is another site. Each public site needs its own license, and a key covers one site. The plugin gives a copy its own installation id as soon as its address differs from the original, and it also reports the id of the installation it was copied from.
- **Environment label.** Under **Settings › General** you can mark a site as production, staging or development. AI apps are told which one it is and take extra care on production. The label is sent with the update check, but it does not change what your license allows.

> [!TIP] Try large changes on a copy first. A paid plan covers one local copy too. See [Staging, copies and moving sites](/docs/guides/staging/).

## What the site sends to the update service

PowerWP AI contacts the PowerWP update service once a day, and when you activate or deactivate a license, to deliver plugin updates, check your license and count the sites that use PowerWP AI. It sends technical details about the site, never content, orders, customers, connection keys, logs or anything about AI activity. No setting switches this check off. The full list is in [Data and privacy](/docs/security/data/#what-the-update-service-receives), and **Settings › Updates & privacy** shows it inside the plugin.

> [!NOTE] Your AI app talks to your site directly. PowerWP does not see what your AI app asks or what your site answers.

:::cards
- [Activate your license](/docs/get-started/license/) — Paste a key and check your plan.
- [Billing, upgrades and refunds](/docs/account/billing/) — Monthly billing, same key, bigger limits.
- [Staging, copies and moving sites](/docs/guides/staging/) — A safe way to try changes first.
- [Data and privacy](/docs/security/data/) — What PowerWP AI stores and sends.
:::

Source: https://powerwp.ai/docs/account/licenses/