Testing Your Bot

After setting up your bot and adding knowledge sources, the next crucial step is testing. Thorough testing ensures your bot behaves as expected and provides a high-quality experience for your customers. ChatSignals provides two ways to interact with your bots.

Quick Chat: For All Users

The fastest way to chat with your deployed bot is from the Your Bots page.

1. Navigate to the Your Bots page from the main menu.
2. Find the bot you want to chat with in the table.
3. Click the chat icon (message square) in the Actions column.

This opens a clean chat interface where you can interact with your bot using its current deployed configuration—exactly as your customers will experience it. This feature is available to all team members, not just admins.

Quick Test Chat: For Admins

For more detailed testing with debug information, admins can use the Quick Test feature:

1. Navigate to the Your Bots page and click the settings icon next to your bot.
2. In the top right corner of the configuration page, click the "Test Your Bot" button.

This will launch the "Quick Test Chat" modal, a powerful testing environment where you can:

• Test configuration changes before saving: Make changes to your bot's configuration and immediately test them without deploying to customers
• Access full debug information: See detailed insights into the bot's decision-making process
• Iterate quickly: Refine your configuration based on test results before committing changes

Using the Quick Test Chat

The Quick Test Chat mimics a real conversation, allowing you to see exactly how your bot will respond to different inputs.

1. Type a message in the input field at the bottom.
2. Press Enter or click the Send button.
3. The bot's response will appear instantly in the chat window.

Key Features for Effective Testing

• Simulate User Types: Use the user icon next to the input field to toggle between an authenticated user (with an email) and an anonymous visitor. This is useful for testing how your bot handles actions like contact creation.
• Debug Mode: Enable the "Debug" toggle to get a behind-the-scenes look at the bot's decision-making process. This includes:
  • Conversation Issues: The core questions or problems the bot identified.
  • Escalation Logic: A step-by-step explanation of why the bot chose to respond or escalate.
  • Sales Actions: Details on which actions were considered, offered, and executed.
  • Knowledge Base: The specific chunks of knowledge used to formulate the response, along with their relevance scores.
• Quick Replies: If your bot is configured to offer quick replies, they will appear as clickable buttons, allowing you to test conversational flows.
• Clear Chat: Use the "Clear Chat" button to reset the conversation and start a new test scenario.

What to Test: A Checklist

Use this checklist to ensure your bot is ready for prime time.

1. Knowledge Base Accuracy

Ask questions that should be answered by your knowledge sources.

• Direct Questions: "What is your pricing?" or "What are your business hours?"
• Implicit Questions: "How much does it cost?" or "Are you open on weekends?"
• Follow-up Questions: Ask a question, then ask a related follow-up to test context retention.

Goal: Ensure the bot provides accurate, relevant answers and cites the correct knowledge sources.

2. Handoff and Escalation Scenarios

Test situations where the bot should escalate to a human agent.

• Explicit Requests: "I want to speak to a human" or "Can I talk to an agent?"
• Sensitive Topics: "I want to cancel my account" or "I'm very frustrated."
• Out-of-Scope Questions: Ask about something your knowledge base doesn't cover.

Goal: Verify that the bot correctly identifies the need for a handoff and delivers your configured handoff message.

3. Sales Actions

If you've configured sales actions, test the phrases that should trigger them.

• Trigger Phrases: "Can I see a demo?" or "I'm interested in the enterprise plan."
• Debug Mode: Use the debug toggle to see if the correct action was offered and why.

Goal: Confirm that sales actions are offered at the right moments and that the execution (e.g., creating a contact) works as expected.

4. Edge Cases and Ambiguity

Try to confuse the bot to see how it handles unexpected inputs.

• Ambiguous Questions: "What do you do?" (Could have multiple answers).
• Typographical Errors: "Wat is ur pricingg?"
• Multiple Questions: "What's your price and can I get a demo?" in a single message.

Goal: Ensure the bot responds gracefully, either by asking for clarification or escalating, rather than providing a nonsensical answer.

The Quick Test Chat is an invaluable tool for iterating on your bot's configuration. Regular testing will help you build a more effective, reliable, and helpful AI assistant.