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

# Pause, End, and Reuse an Experiment

> Understand what happens to Smart Link traffic when you pause or end a Jurni experiment, how winners are selected, and when a Smart Link can be reused.

Pausing and ending an experiment have different effects on traffic. Use **Pause** when you need to temporarily stop an active test. Use **End Experiment** when you are ready to permanently close the test and choose a winner.

## Pause an experiment

When you choose **Pause**, Jurni stops the experiment from actively splitting traffic.

The current Jurni UI warns that while an experiment is paused, traffic entering through its Smart Link is routed to the **shop home page**.

<Warning>
  Do not pause an experiment while a paid campaign is still sending meaningful traffic to its Smart Link unless routing that traffic to the home page is acceptable.
</Warning>

A planned workflow for choosing a variant or custom fallback URL while paused is not part of the current shipped behavior.

## End an experiment

Ending is different from pausing. Jurni requires you to select a **winning variant**.

When you confirm the winner, Jurni currently:

* routes 100% of experiment traffic to the selected winning variant
* points the experiment Smart Link to the winner
* moves the experiment to **Ended** status
* treats ending the experiment as permanent and irreversible

The winning destination can be either a Jurni page or a supported external URL that was used as a variant. Selecting it is a decision about where traffic should go, not by itself proof of statistical significance.

## What happens to the Smart Link after ending

The Smart Link continues to work and points to the winning destination.

The Smart Link itself is not disposable. Jurni lets you update a Smart Link's destination later, and the same Smart Link can be reused for a later routing/testing workflow when appropriate.

<Tip>
  Keeping the campaign-facing Smart Link stable is useful when you want to change the destination behind an existing ad without replacing the URL in the campaign.
</Tip>

## Pause vs. End

| Action    | Experiment status | Where traffic goes                                               | Reversible?                           |
| --------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| **Pause** | Paused            | Current behavior routes Smart Link traffic to the shop home page | The experiment can be resumed         |
| **End**   | Ended             | 100% to the selected winning variant                             | Ending the experiment is irreversible |

## Before pausing or ending

Check:

1. Whether paid traffic is still using the Smart Link.
2. The current date range and variant metrics.
3. Whether any custom/downstream decision metric needs to be reviewed outside the variant table.
4. Which destination should continue receiving traffic after the test.

## Related guides

* [What Are Experiments?](/experiments/what-are-experiments)
* [Read Experiment Results](/experiments/reading-results)
* [Smart Links](/building-funnels/smart-links)
* [How Experiment Traffic Is Assigned](/experiments/traffic-assignment)


## Related topics

- [What Are Experiments? A/B Testing in Jurni](/experiments/what-are-experiments.md)
- [Create and Run an A/B Test in Jurni](/experiments/create-experiment.md)
- [Plan a useful experiment](/experiments/strategic-experiments.md)
- [Find the right Jurni help](/help/start.md)
- [Manage, duplicate, and archive experiences](/build/manage-experiences.md)