Idea builder for Optimizely Web Experimentation
Products
- Optimizely Web Experimentation
- Optimizely Feature Experimentation
Idea builder is a dedicated tool in Optimizely Experimentation that helps you generate experiment ideas using Mark, Optimizely's agent orchestration platform. Provide structured context about your page, goal, and research, and Mark returns specific, actionable test ideas you can save, refine, and act on. Mark can analyze a single page or a multi-step flow.
Idea builder works best when you also have additional context ready, such as a heatmap image, qualitative research documents, or notes from your analytics tool. These inputs are optional but improve the quality of generated ideas.
Access Idea builder
Click Ideas.
The Ideas page displays two tabs: Draft and Saved.
The context panel contains three collapsible sections: Test Setup, Research, and Sources.
Provide page context
The Test Setup section is where you define where the test runs and what you want to improve.
Use the Target by drop-down list to select one of the following:
- URL – Enter a page URL for Mark to analyze. To analyze a multi-step flow, click + add up to four URLs, such as a product detail page, cart, and checkout page. Mark evaluates the full flow and suggests the best ideas across all the pages.
- Screenshot – Upload an image of the page you want to analyze. Drag and drop the image or click Add to upload.
In the Goal field, enter the primary outcome you want this experiment to achieve. For example, enter Increase demo bookings or Improve step 1 to step 2 conversion. A clear goal helps Mark focus ideas on the behavior you want to change.
Add optional context
The following sections are optional but improve the relevance of generated ideas:
Research
The Research section lets you add qualitative insights or files that explain user behavior and problem areas. Click Research to expand it.
Upload files such as heatmaps, analytics reports, or user research documents to give Mark visual evidence of user interactions. Drag and drop files or click Add to browse. Each file must be 5 MB or smaller.
In the text field, enter analytics notes, data points, or observations not captured in an uploaded file. For example, enter Bounce rate is 80% for enterprise customers and 50% for small business customers.
Sources
The Sources section lets you reference past tests to inform new ideas and avoid duplication. Click Sources to expand it.
Use the Previous Tests search field to search for and select up to four past experiments. This helps Mark build on existing test results and avoid repeating experiments that did not work.
To remove a test, click X on each test card. To reset the entire context panel, click Clear.
Generate ideas
After providing your page context and any optional inputs, click Get ideas.
Mark analyzes the context you provided and generates experiment ideas. While ideas are generating, Mark displays its reasoning process.
Generated ideas display as individual cards.
Click View Details to expand a card and see the full details.
Each expanded card includes the following information:
- Title – The name for the experiment idea.
- Description – A summary of what the experiment would change.
- Problem – The user behavior or friction point the idea addresses.
- Hypothesis – A prediction of how the change will affect user behavior and the primary metric.
- Why this will work – The rationale behind the idea, including the conversion principle or heuristic that supports it.
- Sources – The page observations or principles Mark used to generate this idea.
To remove an idea, click X on the idea card. To regenerate ideas, adjust the fields in the context panel and click Update.
Refine an idea
Click Refine on any idea card. Click Refine on multiple cards to refine several ideas in one conversation. To deselect a card, click X next to its Refine button.
The Mark chat panel opens with suggestions tailored to Idea Builder, such as Generate bolder ideas, more variations, or similar ideas.
Enter a natural language prompt to refine the selected ideas. For example:
- Make this more focused on mobile users.
- Generate three more ideas like this.
- Merge these two ideas together.
Click Submit.
Mark generates updated or additional ideas based on your prompt. Refined ideas display at the bottom of the ideas list.
Save ideas
To save an idea for later, click Save on the idea card.
Saved ideas are available on the Saved tab.
To delete a saved idea, click More (…) > Delete.
Generate a test plan from an idea
Beta This feature is currently in beta. Contact your Customer Success Manager or sign up for the beta on Optimizely.com.
Products
- Optimizely Web Experimentation
- Optimizely Feature Experimentation
A test plan turns an idea into a structured document you can review and edit before you build. Mark asks you a few questions, then fills in the plan from your answers.
Generating a test plan is optional. You can also build an experiment directly from an idea. Mark asks you the same questions in that flow.
Generate a test plan
- Go to the Ideas page and click the idea to open its details.
- Click Generate Test Plan. The Mark chat panel opens.
- Answer the three questions Mark asks, one at a time. Mark asks which variations to test against the original, how to split traffic between the original and the variations, and which primary metric to optimize. For each question, do one of the following:
- Select one of the options Mark suggests. Mark marks one option as recommended.
- Enter your own answer in the free-text field.
- Click Skip. Mark uses the first option.
- Wait while Mark builds the plan from your answers.
When Mark finishes, the idea shows View Test Plan instead of Generate Test Plan.
Edit a test plan
Click View Test Plan to open the plan. Mark fills it in for you.
To change it, click Edit. You can do the following:
- Edit any field.
- Add a new section.
- Delete a section.
- Move sections and lines to change how the plan is laid out. Moving a section or line changes only the layout. It does not change priority.
- Upload an image for a variation.
Click Save to keep your changes, or Cancel to discard them. The plan keeps only your most recent save. There is no version history.
Download a test plan
To share the plan outside Optimizely, click Download PDF at the top of the test plan page.
Target a saved page
Products
- Optimizely Web Experimentation
In the Test Setup section, select Saved page in the Target by drop-down list to choose a page already saved in your experimentation account.
Build an experiment from an idea
Products
- Optimizely Web Experimentation
Build an experiment from an idea to turn that idea into a complete A/B test you can review and start. Mark does not only create the variation, it also creates the metric and the audience the test needs. You act on an idea without configuring each component yourself.
The following video shows the complete flow, from an idea card to an experiment ready to start:
- Go to the Ideas page.
- On the Draft or Saved tab, find the idea you want to test.
- Click Build on the idea card. The Visual Editor opens in a new tab. Optimizely creates the experiment and adds Variation #1. Mark receives the idea as a prompt, so you do not need to write a prompt yourself.
- The New Idea pop-pup shows the idea details along with the Build Prompt. Click Build Variation.
- The Visual Editor opens in a new tab. Optimizely creates the experiment and adds Variation #1. Mark receives the idea as a prompt, so you do not need to write a prompt yourself.
- Review the change Mark applied to the variation. Mark lists what it changed under What I built. The summary covers anything Mark decided differently from the idea.
- Click Save All to keep the changes. To discard the changes instead, click Undo All.
- Wait for Mark to check the experiment configuration. Mark reads the metrics and audiences that already exist in your project. Mark also reads the pages the experiment activates on. Mark reuses a matching event or audience instead of creating a duplicate.
- Select a primary metric. Mark suggests metrics based on the idea. Click the checkbox for each metric you want, then click submit. The first metric you select becomes the primary metric. To describe a metric in your own words, click Something else. To continue without a metric, click Skip.
- Select an audience. Mark suggests audiences, recommends one, and gives a short reason for each option. Select one option, then click submit. To describe an audience in your own words, click Something else. To continue without an audience, click Skip.
- Choose what to do next. Mark creates the metric and the audience you selected and attaches them to the experiment. Mark then offers three options:
- Review experiment – Opens the experiment Summary page in a new tab.
- Preview variation – Opens the variation the way a visitor sees it.
- Generate another variation – Adds another variation to the same experiment.
- Click Review experiment, then review the pages, audience, variations, traffic allocation, and primary metric on the Summary page.
- Click Start Experiment to run the test.
Mark-generated code sometimes contains mistakes. Review the variation and the experiment configuration before you start the test. Preview the variation at the viewport sizes your visitors use. A change that fits on desktop sometimes wraps or hides elements on mobile.
What Mark builds
Mark creates each component the experiment needs to run:
- Experiment – Mark creates an A/B test and takes the experiment name and description from the idea.
- Variation – Mark adds Variation #1 with the change it applied in the Visual Editor. Optimizely splits traffic evenly between the original and the variation.
- Metric – Mark sets the metric you select as the primary metric. Mark reuses a matching event when one already exists in your project.
- Audience – Mark adds the audience you select. Mark reuses a matching audience when one already exists in your project.
- Activation – Mark targets the pages you set as context, either the URL or the saved page.
You can change any of these from the experiment settings, the same way you would for an experiment you create yourself.