You've built your AI agent with a custom voice, instructions, and maybe even a knowledge base. But before you point real customer calls at it, you'll want to run some tests. dialnote gives you two ways to test your agent: browser-based calls for quick checks and real phone calls for full end-to-end testing.

Browser-Based Testing#

The fastest way to test your agent is directly in your browser. No phone needed—just click and talk.

From your AI Agents page, find the agent you want to test and click the Test button on the agent card. A modal appears with a simple interface:

1. Click Start Test Call to begin
2. Your browser will request microphone access (grant it to continue)
3. Once connected, speak naturally—the agent will respond in real time
4. Click End Call when you're done testing

During the call, you'll see a live status indicator that shows whether your connection is active. The modal walks through a few states—connecting, connected, and ended—so you always know what's happening. The test uses WebRTC through Retell AI, so you'll get the same voice quality and response times your callers will experience. This is perfect for:

• Checking how your agent handles common questions
• Testing the greeting message sounds natural
• Verifying knowledge base answers are accurate
• Tweaking instructions based on real conversation flow

Phone-Based Testing#

For the full experience, test by calling your actual business number. This shows you exactly what customers will hear, including ring time, call quality over cellular networks, and any IVR routing you've configured.

To run a phone test:

1. Make sure your AI agent is assigned to a phone number (see the deployment section below)
2. Call that number from another phone—a cell phone works great
3. Your AI agent answers and handles the conversation
4. After the call ends, check your inbox for the transcript and AI-generated summary

This catches things browser testing might miss: how the agent sounds on a real phone speaker, how it handles background noise, and whether your call flow routing works correctly.

Deploying Your Agent#

Once you're happy with how your agent performs in testing, connecting it to your phone number takes just a few steps.

Go to Settings → Phone Numbers and select the number you want the agent to handle. In the call flow settings, add an AI Agent action and select your agent from the dropdown. Save your changes.

That's it—incoming calls to that number will now route to your AI agent. You can set this up as the first action (agent answers immediately) or place it after other actions like an IVR menu.

Common Testing Scenarios#

Here are a few scenarios worth testing before going live:

Greeting and introduction – Does the agent introduce itself clearly? Does it match your brand voice?

FAQ handling – Ask questions your customers commonly ask. Are the answers accurate and helpful?

Edge cases – What happens if someone asks something outside your agent's scope? Does it gracefully redirect or transfer?

Transfer flows – If your agent can transfer calls, test that the handoff works smoothly.

Scheduling (if enabled) – If you've connected Calendly or Cal.com, try booking a meeting through the agent.

Troubleshooting#

Microphone not working in browser test – Check your browser's site permissions. Chrome shows a camera icon in the address bar when microphone is blocked.

Agent sounds robotic or choppy – This usually indicates network issues. Try on a faster connection, or test from a different browser.

Agent gives wrong answers – Review your knowledge base content and instructions. Often the issue is outdated info in your knowledge base or instructions that are too vague.

Test works but real calls don't – Double-check the call flow configuration for your phone number. Make sure the AI Agent action is set correctly and the right agent is selected.