Optimizely Opal overview

  • Updated

Optimizely Opal is an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant that helps you work smarter across Optimizely One. Whether you create content, manage experiments, or analyze data, Opal uses AI to automate tasks, surface insights, and guide decision-making. Optimizely Opal has a flexible system of AI agents that are intelligent software components that understand your intent and help you reach your goal.

Admins can configure Optimizely Opal and customize its responses in the Opal app.

AI

AI refers to software that performs tasks typically requiring human reasoning, like learning from data, making decisions, or solving problems. These systems identify patterns, generate content, and offer insights using large language models (LLMs) and other algorithms trained on vast datasets.

Recent advances in computing power, data availability, and model design have accelerated how people use AI across industries. At Optimizely, AI is embedded into the platform to help you move faster, automate repetitive work, and make more informed decisions.

AI agents

AI agents are software systems that act on your behalf. They can analyze information, interact with the platform or other tools, and adapt their behavior based on feedback. Unlike traditional tools that only respond to direct input, agents can manage goals and take steps to accomplish them.

Optimizely classifies AI agents into the following three broad types:

  • Simple assistants – Help with straightforward tasks like generating content, formatting it into a structure, or offering ideas based on a prompt. 
  • Specialized agents – Focus on a domain or tool. These agents use expert-level context to analyze data, predict outcomes, or recommend next steps.
  • Workflow and autonomous agents – Coordinate and perform multi-step processes, often by integrating with other tools. These agents can handle tasks across systems and adapt workflows over time.

These agents improve productivity by reducing manual work, increasing accuracy, and providing more tailored experiences. They also support scalability, helping teams achieve more without growing headcount.

Optimizely Opal

Optimizely Opal is your AI assistant across Optimizely. It responds to natural language questions, generates insights, and helps you complete tasks faster. 

Optimizely Opal uses AI agents to 

  • Answer platform questions – Understand terminology, workflows, and configuration steps.
  • Configure content, campaigns, and experiments – Save time during creation and planning.
  • Automate repetitive tasks – Reduce manual configuration and speed up delivery.

Optimizely Opal uses Opal credits.

What you can do with Opal across Optimizely One

Optimizely designed Opal to support marketers, product managers, and content creators across Optimizely One. Whether you are launching a campaign or fine-tuning an experiment, Opal adapts to your role and needs.

Most interactions happen through Opal Chat, which is available across the Optimizely platform in the global navigation bar. 

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Use natural language to ask questions, generate content, or request help. Opal responds in real-time and remembers threads so you can pick up where you left off.

Opal chat UI

The following are some examples of what Optimizely Opal can help with:

  • Use tools – Ask Opal to complete tasks using built-in tools, like creating a campaign, drafting content, analyzing images, or suggesting flag variations. See Tools for instruction agents.
  • Analyze files – Upload a document, image, or spreadsheet and ask questions about it. See Optimizely Opal Chat.
  • Answer questions – Ask Opal about Optimizely features, capabilities, or concepts. It can explain terms, walk you through configuration steps, or point you to relevant documentation.

See Products with Opal features for a list of all available Opal features.

How Opal works

When you ask Opal a question, it follows a structured process behind the scenes.

  1. Prompt – You enter a request in natural language.
  2. Enrichment – Opal adds context using platform data, content, and your workspace.
  3. Agent and tool selection – Opal selects the right agent and supporting tools for your task.
  4. LLM interaction – The agent communicates with an LLM to generate a response. Opal uses Google Gemini through a business account, so your data is never used to train the model or shared across customers.
  5. Action execution – If needed, Opal performs actions inside Optimizely using built-in tools.
  6. Response – You see a tailored response in chat.

How Opal works.png

Why use Opal and AI agents?

Opal helps you with the following:

  • Work faster – Eliminate repetitive tasks and reduce manual configuration.
  • Scale content and insights – Get more done with fewer handoffs.
  • Improve personalization – Tailor output based on your brand, audience, and goals.
  • Make informed decisions – Use data-backed recommendations without digging through dashboards.
  • Simplify complexity – Let Opal manage workflows so you can focus on strategy.

See Optimizely Opal and AI features for a list of all available Opal, generative AI, and machine learning features.

Products with Opal features

Optimizely Opal app

Collaboration

  • Use AI to write experimentation plans and suggest hypotheses and variations from the global header.
  • Use AI to refine variations and written briefs.

Content Marketing Platform

Feature Experimentation

Opti ID Admin Center

Optimizely Data Platform (ODP)

Optimizely Opal is available only to United States–based ODP customers.

ODP + Optimizely Content Recommendations

Optimizely Opal is available only to United States–based ODP + Content Recommendations customers.

Personalization

Web Experimentation

Next steps