In an earlier Tip Tuesday post, I gave tips for getting started with testing in your community. You can read the full post here.
One of the hardest parts of A/B testing isn't running the test... often it's coming up with variants to test in the first place. Writing multiple versions of a banner headline or your CTAs can feel repetitive, and it's easy to default to minor changes that won't provide any learnings.
Thankfully, AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT can help you generate more creative, diverse testing variants in a fraction of the time. These can provide a great foundation for building your next test.
What you can use LLMs for
AI tools are well-suited for generating copy and design concept ideas. Here are a few ideas across a range of test elements:
- Banner and headline copy: Ask for 5–10 versions of a headline. Prompt the tool for different angles: benefit-driven, curiosity-driven, action-oriented, community-focused
- CTA button text: Generate variations across tone and urgency ("Join the conversation" vs. "Get started" vs. "See what's inside")
- Email subject lines: Quickly produce variants across different frameworks (question, statement, personalization.) I also find subjectline.com to be a great free resource.
- Onboarding prompts or welcome messages: Test different tones or framings for your first-touch content
Tips on prompting
The quality of your test variants depends on the quality of your prompt. A few tips:
- Give context: Tell the LLM who the audience is, what your goal is, and where the copy will live
- Ask for contrast: Request variants that are meaningfully different from each other, not just rephrased versions of the same idea. This helps create meaningful test learnings.
- Specify constraints: Include character limits, tone requirements, or any brand language rules upfront
- Ask for rationale: Have the LLM briefly explain the angle behind each variant. This makes it easier to pick candidates and form a hypothesis
Example prompt (try it yourself)
"Write 6 versions of a SaaS community homepage banner headline. The audience is B2B software professionals. The goal is to get first-time visitors to sign up. Each version should use a different angle: one focused on peer connection, one on exclusive content, one on career value, one on getting answers faster, one that uses a question, and one that leads with a specific number or stat. Keep each under 10 words."
Running a prompt like this takes only a few minutes and gives you a solid springboard.
A few things to keep in mind
LLMs generate options... they don't make decisions for you. Always review the output with your brand voice and community context in mind. Treat the suggestions as a starting point, not a final draft. One of the best pieces of advice is treating LLMs like an intern – expect to teach and coach the tool until you get a test-ready output.
