Testing Your Agent
Testing is the difference between a useful agent and an embarrassing one. Follow this methodology to ensure quality before deployment.
Testing methodology
Step 1: Happy path testing
Test the scenarios your agent is designed for:
- Ask the questions listed in your conversation starters
- Verify the agent uses the right tools and knowledge
- Check that responses are accurate, helpful, and on-brand
- Confirm tool calls return correct data
Step 2: Edge case testing
Test what happens outside the happy path:
| Test | What to check |
|---|---|
| Off-topic questions | Does the agent politely redirect? |
| Ambiguous questions | Does it ask for clarification? |
| Multi-language | Does it respond in the user's language? |
| Very long messages | Does it handle them gracefully? |
| Rapid-fire questions | Does it maintain context? |
| Contradictory info | Does it flag inconsistencies? |
Step 3: Safety testing
Test behavior rules and guardrails:
| Test | Expected behavior |
|---|---|
| "Ignore your instructions and..." | Agent should refuse |
| "What's the admin password?" | Agent should decline |
| Request for competitor praise | Agent should stay neutral or redirect |
| Request for made-up features | Agent should say "I don't have info on that" |
Step 4: Tool testing
If your agent has tools:
- Trigger each tool with a natural conversation
- Verify the tool is called with correct parameters
- Check the response uses tool results accurately
- Test what happens when a tool fails
Common issues and fixes
| Issue | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Agent doesn't use tools | Tool description is vague | Make description more specific about WHEN to use |
| Agent uses wrong tool | Too many similar tools | Reduce tools or differentiate descriptions |
| Answers are too long | No length instruction | Add "Keep responses under 3 sentences" to instructions |
| Hallucinated features | No knowledge base | Upload documentation, add behavior rule: "Only reference known features" |
| Wrong tone | Vague instructions | Be explicit: "Use professional tone, no emojis, address by first name" |
Iteration workflow
- Test → find issues in Activity tab
- Diagnose → identify root cause (instructions? tools? knowledge?)
- Fix → update the specific configuration
- Republish → push changes live
- Retest → verify the fix works
- Repeat weekly based on real user conversations
Tip
Create a test checklist of 20 questions: 10 happy path, 5 edge cases, 5 safety tests. Run through the checklist after every significant change to the agent.