A/B testing needs versioning enabled on the agent. If there is no Version tab, it is not available on
your account yet. Email support@brilo.ai.
Before you start
- At least two published versions of the same agent. See Save and switch agent versions.
- Enough call volume that a difference will show. Ten calls tells you nothing. A hundred starts to.
- One thing you are testing, and one measure you will judge it by. Decide the measure before you start.
- You will be working in your agent’s Version tab.
Steps
1
Create the version you want to test
Copy your live version, make one change, and publish it. One change, so that whatever the result is,
you know what caused it. See Save and switch agent versions.
2
Decide what winning means, before you look
Pick the measure now. Bookings taken, calls that reached a person, average call length,
Pulse Score, or an extraction field you already collect. Writing it down first
stops you finding a metric afterwards that says what you hoped.
3
Open the Version tab and start a test
Select the versions you want to compare. You can run between two and four at once.
4
Set the traffic split
Give each version a percentage. They have to add up to 100, and Brilo will not start the test
otherwise. An even split gets you an answer fastest, so 50 and 50 for two versions.If the new version is risky, start it at 20 and give the live one 80. You will wait longer for a
result, and you risk fewer calls.
5
Start it and leave it alone
Start the test. It shows as Running, and calls are shared between the versions from that point.Leave it for a week, or until each version has taken enough calls to mean something. Checking on day
one and reacting is the most common way to get a wrong answer.
6
Stop it and pick the winner
When you stop the test you get two choices: Just stop the test leaves everything as it was, and
Select a winner to promote lets you name the version that won so you can deploy it.
You will know it worked when
The test shows as running, both versions are taking calls, and after a week you can point at one number that separates them.What is worth testing
What is not worth testing: two changes at once, wording nobody will notice, and anything where you already
know the answer. Fix the obvious problems first and test the genuine judgement calls.
How long to run it
Long enough that the difference is bigger than the noise. As a rule of thumb, wait until each version has taken at least fifty calls, and prefer a full week so you cover every day of the week. Monday callers and Saturday callers behave differently, and a test that ran Tuesday to Thursday can mislead you. Stop early only if a version is clearly failing. That is not a result, it is a fault, and there is no point serving it to more callers.What else you can do here
- Switch versions outright instead of testing, when you are confident. See Save and switch agent versions.
- Watch call quality per version while the test runs. See Pulse Score.
- Collect the measure you are judging by as a field on every call. See Pull the details out of every call.
- Read what callers actually asked for, which often matters more than either version. See Tag your calls automatically.
If it did not work
The test will not start. Your percentages do not add up to 100. Fix the split and start again. You cannot select a version. It has to be published first. Drafts cannot take calls. See Save and switch agent versions. The two versions look identical in the results. Either the change was too small for callers to notice, which is a real and useful answer, or you have not taken enough calls yet. One version is obviously worse. Stop the test and promote the other one. You do not need statistical confidence to act on an agent that is failing calls. The numbers moved but you changed two things. You cannot attribute it. Rerun with one change. You stopped the test and nothing changed. Just stop the test deliberately leaves your setup alone. To move to the winner, stop with Select a winner to promote, then deploy it.FAQ
Can I A/B test two versions of my Brilo agent on real calls?
Can I A/B test two versions of my Brilo agent on real calls?
Yes. In the agent’s Version tab, select between two and four published versions, give each a
traffic percentage adding up to 100, and start the test. Calls are split between them from that point.
How many versions can I test at once?
How many versions can I test at once?
Between two and four. Two is almost always the right answer, because four versions means each one takes
a quarter of your calls and you wait four times as long for a result.
How long should I run an A/B test?
How long should I run an A/B test?
At least a week, and until each version has taken around fifty calls. A full week matters because
weekday and weekend callers behave differently, so a three day test can point the wrong way.
What traffic split should I use?
What traffic split should I use?
An even split for a fair comparison and the fastest answer. Weight it towards your current version,
for example 80 and 20, when the new one is risky and you want fewer calls exposed to it.
What happens when I stop the test?
What happens when I stop the test?
You choose. Just stop the test ends the split and changes nothing else. Select a winner to
promote lets you name the winning version so you can deploy it.
Do callers know they are in a test?
Do callers know they are in a test?
No. Each caller reaches one version and has an ordinary call. There is no indication that anything is
being compared.
Can I A/B test if I only get a few calls a day?
Can I A/B test if I only get a few calls a day?
You can run one, but it will take a long time to tell you anything, and you risk acting on noise. At
low volume you are better off changing one thing, listening to the next twenty calls, and judging.
Related
- Save and switch agent versions to create the versions you are comparing
- Pulse Score for a ready made quality measure
- Pull the details out of every call to collect your own measure
- Choose your AI model for a change worth testing properly
- Test your agent yourself before either version takes real calls
