Conversation AI: Rich Previews, Outbound Tests, and Deploy

SMBcrm’s Conversation AI features now include channel-specific test previews, outbound conversation testing, and a redesigned Deploy tab.

Preview Replies by Channel

In the Test your agent panel, use Preview as to see how replies appear across communication channels:

Live chat: buttons
Facebook and Instagram: quick replies
WhatsApp: reply buttons and lists
SMS: plain text

Images appear as previews, and files sent by your agent appear in the test chat. Select a reply or type your own message to test the conversation.

Preview as appears when Enable Rich Elements Support is enabled under Response Behavior. Each element appears only if it is enabled under Allow this bot to send.

Test Outbound Without Messaging Contacts

You can test the opening message your agent sends to a lead, then reply as the lead to continue the conversation.

Set Starts with to Outbound, then select Set up beside Outbound test setup. Configure:

Trigger: choose what prompts the agent to reach out, such as a Facebook lead form, form submission, or missed call.
Test contact: select a contact to populate fields such as {{contact.first_name}}. The contact does not receive a message.
Test values: override fields for this test. Empty values fall back to the contact’s values.
Opening message preview: review the message with its fields populated before starting.

Test messages are never sent to contacts, and testing does not change your agent’s settings.

Outbound Testing Requirements

Enable Conversation AI | Outbound AI Agents under Settings → Labs.
Add an Outbound opening message to the agent.
Outbound tests use the SMS preview because outbound messages are sent through SMS.
Outbound testing is not available for agents built with the flow-based builder.

Manage Deployment in One Place

The redesigned Deploy tab brings together:

Inbound: view connected channels and set up additional ones.
Outbound: manage Channels & activation and Triggers, with status information visible at a glance.
Schedule: manage working hours.
Agent details: review the model, mode, actions, and knowledge base, with an Edit in Build shortcut.

A reminder appears when outbound is enabled but no trigger is configured to start it, with a shortcut to Triggers.

Get Started

Go to AI Agents → Conversation AI and open your agent.
Open Test your agent on the right side of the Build tab.
Choose a channel under Preview as and test the conversation.
For outbound testing, select Starts with → Outbound, complete the setup, and click Test your agent.
Review your results, then open Deploy to manage activation.