# Prefilled Template Text in a Text Area A/B Test

Page: https://alidemirbas.com.tr/en/lab/ab-test-library/tests/prefilled-template-text-in-a-text-area-ab-test

## Hypothesis

If the empty text box is replaced by an editable draft, users who are unsure what to write get a starting point and may be more likely to finish their message. The text submission rate, which counts only text that users explicitly send, may climb.

## When to run this test

Test a draft when the empty text field seems to stop people: long pauses and drop-offs there in form analytics, submissions that fill it with just a few words, or support tickets asking what to write. If the draft helps, users send their text more often, either after editing it or by using it as it is. If the field is not really needed or the problem comes from it being required, deal with that separately first, and before launch confirm that the draft is easy to edit and delete and is clearly labeled as a template.

## Primary metric

**Text submission rate**: Compare visitors who explicitly submit the text; a prefilled field alone does not count.

## Other metrics

- **Form completion rate**: Check whether submissions increase.
- **Text originality rate**: Separate unchanged drafts from meaningful edits.
- **Average completion time**: Check whether time to complete falls.
- **Recipient response rate**: Make sure the recipient response rate does not fall.

## What to check before and during the test

- **Draft**: Place one predefined, editable example in the selected field.
- **Keep constant**: Keep required status, limits, validation and submission behavior unchanged.
- **Editing**: Track whether the draft is edited, deleted or submitted unchanged.
- **Audience**: Review new and experienced users separately.
- **Separate test**: Multiple templates or an “insert template” button are separate variables.

## What to watch when reading the result

- A higher text submission rate is not a win until you check the text originality rate and the recipient response rate. An unchanged draft can still be useful, but if submissions turn into copies of the one template and recipient responses fall, the lift is misleading. A field that arrives prefilled does not count as a submission.
- This test measures one draft in this field only; multiple templates or an "insert template" button need their own test. Review new and experienced users separately. Give the recipient response rate a follow-up window long enough for replies to come in.
- A small gap in the text submission rate is no reason to rush to call the draft a winner, since the quality side may not be settled yet. Check whether the gap could be chance with the [A/B test significance calculator](https://alidemirbas.com.tr/en/calculators/ab-test), and weigh it against the direction of recipient responses.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How should submission be counted for a prefilled text field?

Prefilled text is not a submission. Count explicit user sends among assigned users. Identify the content as an editable template and do not represent unsubmitted text as the user’s message.

### How can lower message quality be detected?

An unchanged template can still be useful. Inspect invalid or irrelevant messages and recipient responses. Editing frequency is diagnostic, not a quality requirement by itself.

### Can new and experienced users respond differently to templates?

Yes. Examine predefined experience groups. A template may help someone unsure how to begin. Multiple templates or an insert-template button are separate treatments.