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SocialAI agents

Build a social media study with simulated accounts

Make a feed in which simulated accounts reply to participants in persona. Add images, import a CSV of posts, bind agents to accounts, and do a test run.

8 steps 15 min read

  1. Get the starter kit

    Download the starter kit from /assets/downloads/social-feed-starter-kit.zip. It contains:

    • A spreadsheet of three posts with comments (social-feed-template.csv).
    • The two photos that the spreadsheet uses (sunset.png, bakery.png).
    • A HOW-TO that describes each column.

    One row is one post or one comment. The columns are:

    • type: post or comment.
    • postId.
    • commentId: necessary only when a different comment replies to this comment.
    • author: the account handle.
    • text.
    • image: the filename of an uploaded image, a preset such as preset:dusk, or an https link.
    • likes.
    • time: the label that shows, for example "3h".
    • replyTo.
    • showAt: when the row appears, in milliseconds from the start of the feed.
    • The forum columns title, kind, linkUrl, score, community and flair.

    You can edit the file in a spreadsheet program. Save it as CSV.

    CAUTION: Do not change the header row.

  2. Add a Social Feed segment

    Drag Social Feed from the segment library into the chamber.

    Open the segment. Then push Open Feed Builder.

    You edit all parts of the feed in the Feed Builder: posts, accounts, images, import and export. A live preview shows what participants will see. The chamber must have a human seat. You add the agents later.

    A Social Feed segment goes into the chamber after the welcome page. Then its Feed Builder opens.

  3. Upload the images first

    CAUTION: Save the experiment one time before you upload images.

    CAUTION: Upload the images before you import the spreadsheet. If the spreadsheet names an image that is not in the library, the picture is broken or the import is refused.

    Under Media of the selected post, open Images. Upload the two photos of the kit, or drag them in. The photos go into the image library of the experiment. The image column of the spreadsheet finds them by filename.

    sunset.png and bakery.png are uploaded to the image library.

  4. Import the spreadsheet

    CAUTION: A new import replaces the posts. Keep the spreadsheet as your master copy.

    Open Data. Then select Import JSON / CSV.

    The posts, their comments and the account of each author appear, with the photos. The third post is scheduled for 15 seconds after the start, so the timeline shows it under "arrives later".

    Each account starts as a crowd account. A crowd account has posts and comments, but it never replies.

    Three posts, four comments and three accounts come from the CSV of the kit.

  5. Check what is still missing

    The chip at the top of the Feed Builder counts the problems that would stop the study. Open the chip to see the list.

    In this clip, no account is an agent, so no account would reply to a participant. The list also shows these problems:

    • Posts scheduled after the feed ends.
    • Agents that cannot respond.
    • Missing API keys.

    Correct each problem until the chip shows Ready.

    The readiness check shows that no agent accounts are set up.

  6. Give an account a new agent

    Select salt.and.crumb. Set its kind to Agent. Then push New agent.

    The wizard makes a chamber agent and binds it to the account. Do these steps in the wizard:

    • Select LLM persona.
    • Give the agent a name.
    • Describe its personality. This text becomes its system prompt.
    • Make sure that an API key is stored for the provider.
    • Set the reply delay.
    • Select the posts that it replies on. In this clip, it is only its bakery post.

    Push Finish. The wizard adds the agent to the chamber.

    The wizard makes a Bakery agent. The agent is bound to salt.and.crumb and replies on its own post.

  7. Bind another account to an existing agent

    An agent that is already in the chamber can also take an account. Each agent can have one account.

    Do these steps:

    • Select mara.linden.
    • Set its kind to Agent.
    • Select the agent in Replies as.
    • Set Responds on to Chosen posts.
    • Tick its posts on the timeline.
    • Set a reply delay of some seconds.

    With Chosen posts, a comment gets one reply, not one reply from each agent. The delay prevents replies that look instant.

    When the chip shows Ready, save the feed. Then push Deploy.

    mara.linden is bound to the Pier Regular agent on her own post. The check shows Ready, and the study is deployed.

  8. Try it as a participant

    Copy the participant link from the ⋯ menu of the builder or from the study card on the dashboard. Open the link in a private window.

    Each simulated account replies to comments on its own posts, in its own voice, after its delay. gio_frames stays a crowd account, so it never replies.

    Deploy saves a study, but it does not open the study to participants. If the study is not active, the copy action asks you to activate it (see Test, deploy and share a study).

    The two accounts reply to comments on the bakery post and on the pier photo.