How to Test Outbound Conversations in Conversation AI
Test your Conversation AI agent before going live with the enhanced Test Your Agent experience in Chat To Clients CRM. You can now simulate outbound conversations, preview personalized opening messages, and test how your agent responds to leads without sending actual messages. Additional improvements include channel-specific rich element previews and a redesigned Deploy tab for managing agent activation and configuration.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What is Test Your Agent?
- Outbound Testing in Test Your Agent
- Rich Elements and Channel Previews
- Redesigned Deploy Tab
- How to Test Your Conversation AI Agent
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Related Articles
What is Test Your Agent?
Test Your Agent is a built-in Conversation AI testing tool that lets you simulate customer interactions before deploying your agent. With outbound testing, you can select a trigger and test contact to preview how an agent-initiated conversation begins, then respond as the lead to evaluate the conversation. The enhanced experience also supports interactive message previews across different communication channels.
The latest improvements include:
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Outbound Testing | Simulate agent-initiated conversations using triggers, test contacts, and personalized opening messages. |
| Rich Element Previews | Test buttons, quick replies, lists, images, and files as they appear on supported messaging channels. |
| Redesigned Deploy Tab | Manage inbound channels, outbound activation, triggers, and working hours from one location. |
Important: Test messages are simulated and are not sent to actual contacts.Outbound Testing in Test Your Agent
Outbound testing lets you simulate how your agent starts a conversation after a configured trigger, such as a new lead submission. Instead of waiting for an actual event, you can select a trigger, choose a test contact, and preview the opening message using that contact's details. You can then continue the conversation as the lead to verify the agent's responses.
Outbound Test Setup Options
The Outbound test setup allows you to configure the information used to initiate the simulated conversation. These settings help you validate the opening message and its personalization before the agent communicates with real leads.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Trigger | Select the event that initiates the simulated outbound conversation. |
| Test Contact | Choose a contact whose details will be used to personalize the opening message. |
| Test Values | Optionally override contact information with custom values for the simulation. |
| Opening Message | Preview the first message your agent will send using the selected contact and test values. |
Test Values and Message Personalization
Test values let you verify how your agent personalizes outbound messages without modifying the selected contact's saved information. When you enter a test value, it takes precedence over the corresponding contact value. If you leave it empty, the system uses the contact's existing information.
For example, an outbound opening message might use:
- {{contact.first_name}} — Sushil
- {{contact.property_type}} — Residential
- {{contact.budget_range}} — 150k–200k
Example opening message:
"Hi Sushil, I'm Maya from Cedar & Key Realty. Are you still looking for a residential property in Austin with a budget of 150k–200k? I can help you explore available options."
Once the test begins, you can reply as the lead and evaluate how the agent continues the conversation.
Rich Elements and Channel Previews
The enhanced Test Your Agent experience also lets you preview how interactive messages appear across supported communication channels. Since each channel displays messages differently, selecting a channel under Preview as helps you verify how customers will interact with buttons, quick replies, lists, images, and files.
| Channel | Preview Experience |
|---|---|
| Live Chat | Interactive buttons |
| Instagram | Quick replies |
| Facebook | Quick replies |
| WhatsApp | Quick replies and selectable lists |
| Supported Media | Image previews and file attachments, including PDFs |
You can select an interactive response or type a custom message to test how the agent continues the conversation.
For example, if an agent asks whether a customer wants to Buy, Rent, or Sell a property, you can select Rent and verify that the agent follows the appropriate conversation path.
WhatsApp list previews also let you select options from a structured list, such as available neighborhoods or service categories.
Images appear as previews within the conversation, while supported documents such as PDFs appear as file attachments.
Note: Available rich elements and their appearance depend on the selected channel and agent configuration.Redesigned Deploy Tab
The redesigned Deploy tab provides a centralized place to configure how your agent communicates after testing is complete. You can manage inbound channels, outbound activation, triggers, and working hours without navigating between separate configuration areas.
| Setting | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Inbound Channels | Manage where the agent responds to incoming customer messages. |
| Outbound Channels & Activation | Configure channels for agent-initiated conversations. |
| Triggers | Define events that initiate outbound conversations. |
| Working Hours | Configure when the agent can respond on selected channels. |
For more information, refer to How to Manage Conversation AI Bot Channels and Routing and Working Hours for Conversation AI.
How to Test Your Conversation AI Agent
Simulate outbound conversations using a trigger and test contact to preview personalized messages and verify your agent's responses before going live.
- Navigate to AI Agents > Conversation AI > Agents List and open your agent's Build tab.
- In Test your agent, select Outbound under Starts with and choose a channel under Preview as.
- Click Edit under Outbound test setup.
- Select a Trigger and Test contact, then add optional Test values.
- Review the Opening message preview and click Save.
Click Test your agent, then reply as the lead to evaluate the conversation. Repeat with different test values or responses to test additional scenarios.
- Once satisfied, open Deploy to review inbound channels, outbound activation, triggers, and working hours before going live.
Tip: To test rich elements, select Inbound under Starts with, choose a channel, and interact with buttons, quick replies, or lists.Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does outbound testing send messages to the selected test contact?
No. Outbound testing simulates the conversation without sending actual messages to the selected contact or other real customers.
Q: What happens if I leave a test value empty?
The simulation uses the corresponding information saved in the selected test contact.
Q: Why is my outbound opening message showing incorrect or missing contact information?
Check the selected test contact and any values entered under Test values. Entered test values override the contact's saved information, while empty fields use the corresponding contact values. Make sure the required information is available before starting the test.
Q: Why isn't my agent initiating outbound conversations after I enable outbound?
Verify that the appropriate outbound channel is activated and a trigger is configured in the Deploy tab. Outbound activation alone may not initiate trigger-based conversations.
Related Articles
- How to Manage Conversation AI Bot Channels and Routing
- Test & Optimize Conversations AI Agents with Prompt Optimizer
- How to Optimize Conversations AI Prompts from a Trial Chat
- Customize Conversation AI Agent Responses with Prompts and Instructions
- Working Hours for Conversation AI
- Conversation AI Bot Explained