# Test an AI Receptionist

Before an AI receptionist takes real calls, run it through the built-in test tools to confirm it understands questions and replies the way you expect. You can rehearse either as a spoken call or as a text chat.

:::note
- Test sessions are free to run: they don't draw down your AI receptionist minutes and don't count against your concurrent call capacity. Nothing from a test appears in the CDR (Call Detail Record, the per-call log) or call reports.
- Two live behaviors are turned off during testing, time-based greetings are skipped, and the receptionist cannot transfer the call.
:::

## Before you begin

Make sure you have already [created an AI receptionist](/pbx/ai-guide/create-an-ai-receptionist/) and finished its basic setup.

## Run a test

1. Sign in to the PBX web portal and open **AI > AI Receptionist**.
2. Select the receptionist you want to try, then switch to the **Online Test** tab.
3. Choose how you want to test it, by call or by chat, and follow the matching steps below.

### Test by call

A spoken test lets you hear how the receptionist sounds and how naturally it handles a back-and-forth conversation.

![AI receptionist call test panel with a Start button](/images/pbx/test-call.png)

:::note
Each test call is capped at 5 minutes.
:::

1. In the left panel, click **Call**.
2. Click **Start** to place the test call.
3. Ask questions the way a real caller would, for example, `What is your company's core service?`
4. Listen to each reply and judge how accurate the answers are and how the overall conversation feels.

### Test by chat

A text chat is a quick way to probe the receptionist's knowledge without speaking aloud.

![AI receptionist chat test panel with a message box](/images/pbx/test-chat.png)

1. In the left panel, click **Chat**.
2. Click **Start** to open a chat session.
3. Type messages as though you were a customer with questions.
4. Read each reply and assess how accurate it is and how well the exchange flows.

## Next steps

- Use what you learned to fine-tune the receptionist. Revisit its [personalization](/pbx/ai-guide/update-settings-for-an-ai-receptionist/#update-settings-for-an-ai-receptionist__personality) and [skills](/pbx/ai-guide/manage-skills-for-an-ai-receptionist/#manage-skills-for-an-ai-receptionist__section_rjv_gp5_l3c) and adjust them until the responses meet your standard.
- Once you're happy with the results, put the receptionist into service for live calls, callers can reach it by dialing its number directly, through [an assigned direct DID](/pbx/ai-guide/update-settings-for-an-ai-receptionist/#update-settings-for-an-ai-receptionist__direct-did) (Direct Inward Dialing, a public phone number pointed straight at the receptionist), or [as a call routing destination](/pbx/ai-guide/ai-receptionist-overview/#ai-receptionist-overview__routing-dest).