What is Labs?

Labs is the part of Instant AI that tests new ideas on your emails, such as a different subject line or discount code, to find what works for your brand. The Labs page shows each test, its status and its result. Instant AI changes how it writes your emails when a test finds a better version. Labs shows you which change it made and the result behind it.

How to see your tests

Before you start

  • Labs is part of Instant AI. You need Instant AI turned on to open the page.
  • Labs runs and decides each test automatically. You do not need to set anything up.

Opening Labs

  1. Go to Instant AI in the sidebar of your dashboard.
  2. Click Labs.

The page opens on Your lab report.

Note: If Labs has not started a test for your store yet, the page shows No tests yet. Your first test shows on this page before it starts.

How it works

Your lab report

The top of the page shows three cards, one for each week:

  • Locked in (last week): what Labs learned last week. These changes now apply to every send.
  • Live now (this week): the tests that run this week.
  • Scheduled (next week): the tests that start next week.

Everything Lab is testing

Below the cards, a table lists every test. Each row shows:

  • Experiment: the name of the test.
  • Outcome: the winning version, or No clear winner.
  • Surface: Flows or Campaigns. If a test runs on one flow, the flow name shows too, for example Flows · Cart Abandonment.
  • Variable: what the test changes, such as Subject line or Discount code.
  • Status: where the test is now (see below).
  • Window: how far the test has run, for example Day 6 / 14, or the date it starts or ended.
  • Lift: the change in the goal metric for a winning test, for example +18.9% open. A test with no winner shows No win.

To find a test, use the filters above the table:

  • Status
  • Surface
  • Variable
  • Goal metric (Open rate or Click rate)
  • Search experiments, to search by name

Test statuses

  • Scheduled: the test has not started yet.
  • Running: the test is sending now.
  • On hold: the test is paused.
  • Applied: a new version won, and every send now uses it.
  • Concluded: the test ended and nothing changed.

Tip: The Concluded filter shows both Applied and Concluded tests, so you can see every finished test in one list.

Each experiment’s page

Click a test in the table to open its page. The page shows:

  • Hypothesis: the idea, and why we expect it to work.
  • Emails in the test: the flows in the test, or All campaigns.
  • Goal metric: the number the test uses to pick a winner.
  • Emails sent: how many emails the test has sent.
  • Test window: how many days the test has run, out of its total length.

Version A and version B show side by side. Each version has a sample email, with the change highlighted.

Results

Results show when a test ends. A running test shows no numbers until then.

When a test ends, the page shows:

  • The winning version.
  • The lift in Revenue per email, Open rate and Click rate.
  • Additional emails engaged: the extra opens or clicks (on the goal metric) that shoppers made because of the winning version.

For a flow test, you can see the results for All flows or for one flow.

Two notes explain each result:

  • What we changed: the change Instant AI made to your emails, or that nothing changed.
  • How we pick a winner: Labs looks at the goal metric first, then checks the other numbers. It only picks a winner when the gap is too big to be luck. If it is not, nothing changes.

FAQ

Do I need to do anything for Labs to run tests? No. Labs chooses, runs and decides each test automatically.

Can I start, stop or change a test from the Labs page? No. The Labs page shows your tests and their results. It does not have controls to start, stop or change a test.

Why did a test change nothing? Labs only picks a winner when the difference between the versions is too big to be luck. If the gap is small, or your current version does better, your emails stay the same. The test page explains why.

Why did one number go down when the test won? Labs picks the winner on the goal metric. A winning version can lower another number a little. For example, more shoppers open the email, but a smaller share of them click. The test page tells you when this happens.

Why can I not see results for a running test? Results show only when a test ends, so you do not see numbers that can still change.

For more on how Instant AI writes subject lines, see How AI subject lines work in Campaigns.