What is a setup test?

In one sentence

A setup test is a quick check, done once after connecting an account, in which you send one message to your business account from another phone and watch your AI agent read it and reply. It proves the whole chain works, from the customer's message to the agent's answer, before a real customer depends on it.

In more detail

Connecting an AI agent to your messages involves several links in a chain. Your account has to be connected. The agent has to be connected to Spaces. The agent has to be able to see new messages, read your business brief and send a reply. Each link can be fine on its own and the chain can still fail, for example if the agent was connected with permission to read but not to reply.

A setup test checks the whole chain at once with one real message. You, or a friend, send something simple to your business account from a different phone or account, such as "Hi, are you open on Saturday?". The agent should notice it, read your brief, and answer. If the reply arrives on the other phone, the chain works.

Starting the test sends nothing. It simply marks the moment the test begins, so Spaces can tell the difference between your test message and anything that arrived earlier. Spaces then reports the result in one of four plain states: the test has not started, it is waiting for your message, your message was received, or a reply went out from the account after it.

The two later states tell you where a problem is, if there is one. If the test never reaches "received", the message is not getting from the platform to Spaces, which usually points to the account connection. If it reaches "received" but never "replied", the message is arriving and the agent is not answering, which usually points to the agent, its permissions, or the fact that a chat app only acts when you ask it to.

The test is the last step before going live. Spaces' own setup runs in order: business brief, channels, setup test, then live. Your agent can ask Spaces at any point what the next step is, and it keeps going until the answer is "live". Here is what a passing test looks like. Names and details are examples.

An example

How to run a setup test, step by step

1. Make sure your business brief is saved and the account you want to test is connected. Your agent can check both.
2. Ask your AI agent to start the setup test on that account. It will tell you what to do next.
3. From a different phone or account, send one ordinary customer-style message to your business account, so it arrives the way a customer's would.
4. Tell your agent you have sent it, or let it check. It asks Spaces whether the message was received.
5. Once it was received, the agent reads the brief and replies in that chat.
6. Check the reply on the other phone. Read it as a customer would: is it right, and does it sound like you?
7. Ask the agent to check the test once more. When it says a reply went out, the account is ready.

Repeat the test for each account you connect. A WhatsApp number passing tells you nothing about your Instagram account, because each connection is separate.

What each result means and what to do

When the test does not pass

Most failures are simple. Work down this list before assuming anything is broken.

• Stuck on waiting: check the message went to the right number or account, and that the account shows as connected. If it needs a sign-in again, your agent can give you a link to reconnect.
• Stuck on waiting on Instagram: a message from someone the account does not follow may land in message requests. Spaces can see those, so ask your agent to look there.
• Stuck on received: ask the agent directly to reply to the test. Chat apps such as Claude, ChatGPT and Grok act when you ask in a chat; they do not watch your inbox on their own.
• Stuck on received with an always-on agent: check the agent was given permission to reply, not only to read, and that sending is not paused for the whole workspace.
• Reply went out but it was wrong: the chain works and the brief needs a fix. Correct the fact and send another test message.
• Reply went out with no brief at all: ask the agent to read the business brief before every reply, and add that to its own notes.

A good first test message, and a better second one

Your first message should be easy, so you are testing the connection rather than the agent's judgement. Once it passes, send one or two harder ones that match real questions. Names and details are examples.

Why it matters for your business

• It proves the chain works with a real message, instead of you hoping it does.
• It shows you exactly where a problem sits, so you fix the right thing.
• It lets you see a reply as a customer sees it before any customer does.
• It catches permission mistakes early, such as an agent that can read but not send.
• It gives you confidence to switch replies on, which is usually the hardest step for owners.

How Spaces handles it

The setup test is built into Spaces' setup. Your agent starts it on one account; Spaces sends nothing and asks you to send one message from another phone. The agent then checks the test and gets one of four states: not started, waiting, received or replied. "Received" means a message arrived after the test began, and "replied" means a reply went out from that account after it.

Your agent can ask Spaces for the next setup step at any time, in plain words: business brief, channels, setup test, then live. A well-behaved agent keeps going until the answer is live and tells you what is now running.

The test reply goes through the same limits as every other message. Replies to people who wrote in go out from the first minute, including on a newly connected account. On WhatsApp, replies are spaced at least 10 seconds apart, so the answer may take a few seconds to appear.

In short

A setup test is one message from another phone and one reply from your agent, checked before customers depend on it. Run it on every account you connect, read the reply as a customer would, and fix the brief if the answer is not quite right.

Does starting a setup test send a message to anyone?

No. Starting the test only marks the moment it begins. You send the test message yourself from another phone, and the only reply goes to that phone.

Can I send the test message from my own business phone?

Use a different phone or account instead, such as a partner's phone or a personal account on the same platform. The test is meant to show a message arriving the way a customer's would, and a message you send from the business account itself is your own message, not an incoming one.

Do I need to run a setup test for each account?

Yes. Each connected account is separate, so a passing test on WhatsApp says nothing about Instagram or email. It only takes a minute or two each.

The test says received but nothing was sent. Is something broken?

Usually not. If you use a chat app such as Claude, ChatGPT or Grok, it replies when you ask it in a chat. Ask it to reply to the test message. With an always-on agent, check it has permission to reply and that sending is not paused.

Does the test count against my limits?

The reply is a normal message, so it is counted like any other. A reply to someone who wrote in is not held back by the daily limit, so the test does not use up room you need for customers.

Can I run the test again later?

Yes. Running it again after you change the brief, reconnect an account or switch AI agents is a sensible way to check everything still works.

What if the reply was correct but sounded wrong?

The connection is fine, and the tone needs work. Add a line or an example sentence to the tone part of your brief, then send another test message.