Configure A/B Test in Email Studio

Create A/B Tests to send two versions of your message to two test audiences from your subscriber list in Marketing Cloud Engagement.

1. Configure test content.
   1. Click A/B Testing.
   2. Click Create A/B Test.
   3. Enter a name and description.
      

      Note Maximum 62 characters for Name and 512 for Description. Don't include the following symbols: " < > / \ | : *
   4. Select a Test Type and complete the required fields. Content Builder emails and shared Content Builder emails can be sent when using the Emails test type.
   

   Note If a preheader isn’t defined in the selected emails, your only option is to enter a preheader. If a preheader is defined in one of the selected emails, your options are the preheader for the one email and to enter a preheader. Only emails containing an A/B Test Content type content area can be used in a content area A/B test.
2. Choose test recipients.
   1. Click Choose... next to the Recipients field.
   2. Select subscriber lists, groups, or data filters to use. Or, choose a data extension. The approximate number of subscribers selected is displayed. Data extension targets of an A/B test send can’t be modified after reaching the Initialized stage, when jobs are created and initialized. Also, the time that A/B tests are initialized depends on the test type selected.
      

      Note Send to a minimum of 2 recipients. You can’t select a Salesforce campaign or report. Processing for A/B testing reviews the recipients to remove unsubscribes and excluded subscribers before creating the test splits so that the final splits are even. The review doesn’t perform when the recipient count is over 2 million.
   3. Click Select.
   4. Determine your test distribution by sliding the marker left or right. The number of subscribers that you’re sending to appears below the bar. You can also manually enter the percent of subscribers or number of subscribers that you want to test.
   5. Click Next.
      

      Note You can follow the same instructions to add suppression and exclusion lists.
3. Set the winner criteria.
   1. Choose either:
   • Highest unique open rate: Version with the highest unique open rate.
   • Highest unique click-through rate (CTR): Version with the highest unique click-through rate.
   1. Specify the duration after which the system declares a winner. You can measure in hours or days. When running a Date and Time test, the test duration doesn’t begin until the system sends the Condition B email.
   2. When running a subject test on a Content Builder email, paste the winning subject line back to the original email.
   3. Click Next.
4. Schedule test deployment.
   1. Select a start time.
      • Immediately: Email sends when you click Finish and Confirm Send.
      • Scheduled: Enter a date and time when you want to start the test.
      • Schedule later: Saves the A/B test for you to configure later.

      

      Note To receive complete results for your A/B test, we recommend waiting at least 24 hours before declaring a winner. Waiting gives time for your subscribers to interact with your communication.
   2. Select how to send the winning email to remaining subscribers.
      • Automatically: Send the winning email to the remaining subscribers immediately after the system declares a winner or at a time that you schedule.
      • Manually: Upon notification that a winner is selected, you send the email to the remaining subscribers.

      

      Note If you perform a Date and Time A/B Test, the option to send the remainder automatically is removed. Send the email to the remaining subscribers on the day of the week and at the time that performed best. After a winner is declared, you can return to the Overview screen, click the A/B Test that you want to view, and send to the remaining subscribers.
5. Configure send options.
   1. Click Use the following from name and address and make a selection from the dropdown menu. Or click Select a send classification and select the send classification from the dropdown menu.
   2. Select a send option.
   3. Click Finish.
   4. Click Confirm.
   

   Note Updating the data source can cause the test to fail. We recommend that you keep the data static to prevent any issues with the test.