# Playground

Test the AI chatbot as a visitor would, and call the AI receptionist from your browser before you have a phone number.

Updated Oct 28, 2026. Source: https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/chat-widget/playground

## What this does

The **Playground** panel runs Small Business Chatbot with your current look, Q&A, website pages and instructions, so you can test it before customers see it. It has three tabs:

- **Embedded widget**: the always-open Q&A widget that sits inside a page.
- **Chat widget**: the widget that opens from the corner of your site.
- **Phone**: a call with your AI receptionist from your browser, with its voice settings underneath. No phone number needed.

## Test the chat widget

1. **Open the Playground**

   In the app, open [Chat Widget › Playground](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/app?panel=playground). It opens on the **Embedded widget** tab.

2. **Switch to the chat widget**

   At the top of the panel, click **Chat widget**. The widget opens with your intro message.

   ![The Playground on the Chat widget tab with the widget open and a test question answered](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/static/images/docs/user-guides/playground-chat-widget-2026-10-28.webp)
   *Chat Widget › Playground, October 2026*

3. **Ask what your customers ask**

   In the widget, type the questions you get by phone and email. Check each answer against your Q&A and your website. If booking is on, ask for an appointment.

4. **Fix and test again**

   In [Q&A](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/chat-widget/questions-and-answers), [Website](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/chat-widget/train-on-your-website) or **Look and Feel**, change what was wrong and save. The Playground reloads the widget when you save **Look and Feel**. New Q&A answers reach the chat within five minutes.

> **Careful:** Playground chats are real chats. Each chat where you send a message is saved in **Conversations** and sends you the summary email when it ends. A chat in the **Chat widget** tab also starts any published workflow that runs when a chat ends. A booking you make goes into your real calendar.

> **Tip:** Send the message `TESTMODE` on its own, in capital letters, to skip the summary email for that chat. The chat is still saved and workflows still run.

## Test the always-open Q&A widget

1. **Set its size**

   On the **Embedded widget** tab, tick **Fill container**, or move the **Width** and **Height** sliders (200 to 1000 px). The preview resizes. The size is kept in this browser.

   ![The Playground's Embedded widget tab with the size controls, the embed code and the widget preview](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/static/images/docs/user-guides/playground-embedded-widget-2026-10-28.webp)
   *Chat Widget › Playground, October 2026*

2. **Change its look**

   Under the preview, change **Embedded background colour**, **Embedded submit button colour**, **Embedded header** or **Embedded subheader**. Click **Save embedded widget settings**. The app shows **Embedded widget settings saved!**

3. **Ask a question**

   In the preview, type a question. When the answer uses your website, a **Sources** button under it lists the pages.

4. **Copy the code**

   Above the preview, click **Add to your website** to copy the Q&A embed code with your size settings. The button reads **Copied!** [Add to your website](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/chat-widget/add-to-your-website) explains where to paste it.

## Call your AI receptionist

The **Phone** tab lets you talk to the AI receptionist the way a caller would, from your computer's microphone. It works on every account, before you choose a phone number. The call uses your greeting, call rules, Q&A and voice, and the website lookup when it's switched on.

1. **Open the Phone tab**

   In the app, open [Chat Widget › Playground](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/app?panel=playground-phone) and click **Phone**. The card **Test your AI receptionist** is at the top, with **Voice settings** under it.

2. **Start a test call**

   Click **Start test call** and allow the microphone when your browser asks. The receptionist answers with your **Greeting**. While it talks, the card reads **Speaking**. While it waits for you, **Listening**.

   ![The Test your AI receptionist card during a test call, with Mute, End call, a 5-minute timer and the receptionist's greeting in the transcript](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/static/images/docs/user-guides/playground-phone-2026-10-28.webp)
   *Chat Widget › Playground › Phone, October 2026*

3. **Talk to it**

   Ask what your callers ask: prices, hours, a booking, something only your website answers. What you both say appears under the card as you talk.

4. **End the call**

   Click **End call**. Each test call lasts up to 5 minutes.

Texts, transfers and emails stay off during test calls. When the call reaches one of them, the receptionist says what it would do on a real call. Test calls aren't saved to **Conversations**.

## Change the voice settings and test again

1. **Edit the settings**

   Under **Voice settings**, change **Assistant Name**, **Company Name**, **Business Email**, **AI Speaker**, **Greeting**, **Goals and System Rules**, **Personality** or **Call Flow**. [Greeting and call rules](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/voice-agent/greeting-and-call-rules) explains each field.

2. **Choose the website lookup**

   Switch on **Let the voice agent look up answers from your website pages** to let the receptionist search your website pages when your Q&A has no answer. It says a short line such as "Let me check that for you." first.

3. **Save and call again**

   Click **Save voice settings**. The app shows **Saved.** Start a new test call to hear the change.

These are the same settings as **Voice Agent › Settings**. Once you have a number, real calls use them too. [Phone number and voice](https://smallbusinesschatbot.com/docs/user-guides/voice-agent/number-and-voice) covers choosing a number.

## If something goes wrong

| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone access was blocked. Allow it in your browser settings and try again. | The browser was told not to share the microphone | Allow the microphone for the app in your browser's site settings, then click **Start test call** |
| No microphone was found. Connect one and try again. | The computer has no microphone the browser can use | Connect a headset or microphone, then try again |
| A test call is already running. | Another tab or person on the account has a test call open | End that call, or wait for it to finish |
| You've used today's test calls. Try again tomorrow. | The account reached the daily number of test calls | Try again the next day |
| The test call could not connect. Try again. | The call didn't start | Click **Start test call** again |