The conformation of polyelectrolytes such as xanthan gum is strongly influenced by the interaction with the solvent. However, it is essential to consider the ionic composition already present in the molecule. Thus, it is important to study the physical-chemical characteristics of the molecule without other additional factors. In this work, we observed, in real time, using automatic continuous mixing (ACM), the influence of salt concentration on the conformation of the single-stranded xanthan gum (X). The results here confirm that in water, X is single stranded, with R-g and L-p values of 40 and 37 nm, respectively. During the ACM experiment, the salt concentration increased, reaching a limit that changed the conformation to a compact strand, when R-g and L-p decreased to 30 and 29 nm, respectively, with reduction in A(2). ACM can be used as a powerful tool to study the conformational transition of polyelectrolytes induced by salt.