Testing Your AI Agent with the Built-in Chat
Use the Test AI Agent chat panel to simulate customer conversations, validate your knowledge base, and fine-tune AI responses — without using credits or affecting your live setup.
Overview
The Test AI Agent chat panel is a built-in tool on the AI Agent settings page. It lets you have a real conversation with your AI Agent using your current configuration — before any changes are saved or published.
Test messages are completely free: they don't use AI credits and don't affect your live setup.
Where to Find It
- Go to AI Agent in the sidebar
- Make sure the AI Agent is enabled (the master toggle at the top)
- The Test AI Agent panel appears on the right side of the page
The test chat is only visible when the AI Agent is enabled. If you don't see it, check that the main toggle is on.
How It Works
The test chat sends your message to the same AI engine that powers your live chatbot, but through a separate test endpoint (/api/chatbot/test). It uses:
- Your current AI Agent settings — name, language, response style
- Your business information — company name, description, hours, contact info
- Your shipping & returns info — policies, costs, delivery times
- Your FAQ items — all questions and answers you've configured
- Your behavior settings — escalation keywords, auto-escalate threshold, capabilities
The conversation history is maintained during the session, so the AI can reference earlier messages — just like a real customer interaction.
Using the Test Chat
Sending Messages
- Type a message in the input field at the bottom
- Press Enter or click the send button
- Watch for the typing indicator (bouncing dots) while the AI generates a response
- The AI response appears as a chat bubble on the left
Quick Test Suggestions
When the chat is empty, three suggestion chips are shown for common test scenarios:
- "What are your hours?" — tests business info responses
- "How can I return?" — tests returns/shipping knowledge
- "Shipping costs?" — tests shipping info responses
Click any suggestion to pre-fill the input and quickly start testing.
Resetting the Conversation
Click the Reset Chat button in the header to clear all messages and start fresh. This is useful when you want to test a different scenario without previous conversation context influencing the responses.
What to Test
Here's a checklist of things to verify with the test chat:
Basic Knowledge
- Ask about opening hours — does the AI use your configured hours?
- Ask about your business — does it describe your company accurately?
- Ask for contact details — does it share your phone/email/address?
FAQ Coverage
- Ask each of your FAQ questions in different words — does the AI match them?
- Ask something not in your FAQs — does the AI handle it gracefully?
- Ask a follow-up question — does context carry over?
Shipping & Returns
- Ask about shipping costs and delivery times
- Ask about the return policy and return deadline
Escalation Behavior
- Use one of your escalation keywords — does the AI signal a handoff?
- Send many messages to test the auto-escalate threshold
Response Style
- Is the tone professional, friendly, or casual as configured?
- Does the AI respond in the correct language?
Important Notes
ℹ️ Free testing: Test messages don't use AI credits and won't affect your live setup. You can test as much as you want.
- The test chat uses your current unsaved settings — you can tweak settings and test instantly without saving first
- The conversation is session-only — it's not stored or visible in your inbox
- If the AI can't generate a response, an error message appears asking you to try again
- The test chat is only available when the AI Agent is enabled