Opacity mask not previewing live with gradient - illustrator

Hey, new user here!  I went to the Transparency tab, after I copied and pasted over the image I had. When I click 'Make Mask' and click on gradient, I can see the thumbnail moving, however, the preview is not live on the main screen. In other words, it doesn't seem there is a way that Illustrator is live previewing the opacity mask (gradient not moving on the image as I'm working)? I have to release and see the changes that way everytime I wish to know how it looks!