Overview
The Test Chat lets you preview exactly how your AI chatbot will respond to visitors. Ask questions, see responses in real-time, and make sure your AI is ready before installing the widget on your website.
This is your sandbox to experiment with different questions, check that your knowledge base is working correctly, and fine-tune your AI instructions.
How It Works
- Go to your Dashboard - Navigate to the Setup tab
- Find "Test Your AI" - Look for Step 3 in the setup process
- Type a question - Ask anything your visitors might ask
- Review the response - See how your AI responds
Hello! I'm your AI assistant. Ask me anything about your business to test how I respond!
What are your shipping rates?
We offer free shipping on orders over $50! Standard shipping is $5.99 and takes 3-5 business days.
What to Test
Before installing the widget on your website, test these common scenarios:
Common Questions
Ask questions your visitors frequently ask
Product Information
Check if AI knows your products and services
Pricing & Policies
Verify pricing, shipping, and return info
Support Queries
Test troubleshooting and help questions
Improving Responses
If the AI doesn't respond correctly, you have several options:
1
Add to Knowledge Base
If the AI doesn't know something, add it to your knowledge base. Upload documents, add FAQs, or crawl your website pages.
2
Update Instructions
Adjust your AI instructions to change how it responds. Add specific guidelines for topics or tone of voice.
3
Add FAQs
For questions that need exact answers, add them as FAQs. The AI will use these word-for-word when relevant.
Tip: After making changes to your knowledge base or instructions, test again to see the improved responses. Changes take effect immediately.
Test with Images
If you have Image Vision enabled, you can also test image uploads in the test chat. Click the paperclip icon to upload an image and see how the AI analyzes it.
Test vs Live Chat
Understanding the difference between test chat and live widget:
Location
Dashboard only
Your website
Who sees it
Only you
Your visitors
Saved in chat logs
No
Yes
Uses message quota
No
Yes
Same AI behavior
Yes
Yes
Good news: Test messages do not count toward your monthly message limit and are not saved in your chat logs - test as much as you want!
Improve This Answer
When the AI gives a response that could be better, you'll see an "Improve this answer" link below the message. Click it to:
- Open the knowledge base editor - Jump directly to add or edit information
- Add the correct answer - Teach the AI the right response for that question
- See immediate results - Test again right away to see the improvement
This is the fastest way to improve your AI's responses - when you spot a wrong answer, fix it immediately while the context is fresh.
Features Not Available in Test Chat
Some features only work with real visitors on your website and cannot be tested in the test chat:
Human Takeover
Taking over conversations requires a real visitor session
Escalation
Escalation requests only trigger from live widget conversations
AI Notifications
Email notifications are only sent for real visitor conversations
Live Monitoring
Test chats don't appear in the live monitoring dashboard
Note: To test these features, install the widget on your website and interact with it as a visitor would, or use the Preview on Desktop/Mobile feature in the Customize page.
Best Practices
- Test before installing - Always test your AI before adding the widget to your website
- Ask like a visitor would - Use natural language, not technical terms
- Test edge cases - Try questions the AI might struggle with
- Check after updates - Re-test whenever you update your knowledge base
- Try different phrasings - Visitors ask the same question in many ways