Campaign planning
A/B testing overview
Set up, manage, and track A/B test variants across campaigns and flows to find what resonates best with your audience.
Step-by-step guide
Two types of A/B tests
Access Audience supports two types of A/B tests:
- One-time — tied to a single campaign or flow message. Useful for testing a specific subject line, send time, or piece of content.
- Ongoing — a standalone test that can be associated with multiple campaigns, flows, and flow messages. Useful for tracking a hypothesis across several touchpoints over time.
The A/B Tests page
Navigate to A/B Tests in the sidebar. Both one-time and ongoing tests are listed here with their type, status, test category, start date, associations, and whether statistical significance has been reached or a winner chosen. Clicking a one-time test jumps directly to the associated campaign or flow message.
Setting up a one-time A/B test
Open a campaign or flow message, click Edit, and enable the A/B test toggle. Configure the following:
- Type — select "One-time".
- Category — choose from custom categories you define under Content → A/B Test.
- Description — document what you are testing and why.
- Variants — add as many variants as needed (A/B, A/B/C, etc.).
You can also switch from one-time to ongoing by selecting an existing ongoing test from the dropdown instead.
Setting up an ongoing A/B test
Create an ongoing test from the A/B Tests page or from within a flow. Configure:
- Name, description, and status — standard metadata.
- Start and end dates — define the testing window.
- Category — same custom categories as one-time tests.
- Variants and winner — add variants, mark significance, and select a winner when the test concludes.
- Associations — link campaigns, flows, flow messages, or assets to the test from its detail page.
Configuring test categories
Go to Content → A/B Test to manage your test categories. Categories work like themes — add whatever labels make sense for your team (e.g. "Subject line", "Send time", "Creative"). Once created, they are available for selection when setting up any A/B test.
Visual indicators
A beaker icon appears on any campaign, flow message, or calendar entry that has an active A/B test — whether ongoing or one-time. This gives you a quick visual cue across list views, the calendar, and the flow canvas without opening each item.
Associations
A/B tests can be associated with campaigns, flows, flow messages, and assets. Associations are visible from both sides — the A/B test detail page shows linked objects, and each campaign, flow, or asset shows its linked tests. You can manage associations from either direction.