A/B testing is also called as split testing. It is the process of creating two variations of a campaign and sending them to separate groups of your email list with a view to test which variation works better when it comes to metrics like open rate, click-through rate, engagement and response.
A/B testing is a very useful testing process in the sense that after selecting the better of the email letter variations, you can do well to send that stronger one to the remaining part of your email list. This way it helps you to get more open rates for your campaigns.