Started by: QA_Lead_Jenny | Jan 2025
Our testing team is drowning in work. Manual testing taking forever and automation with Selenium also time-consuming to maintain.
Heard about AI-powered testing tools that supposedly write tests automatically. Sounds like magic - is it real or snake oil?
Survey data shows 72.3% of teams are actively exploring or adopting AI-driven testing workflows by 2024 so seems like big trend.

Reply by: TestAutomationExpert
Been using Testim and Applitools for AI testing past year. Its not magic but its definitely helpful.
The AI doesn't write perfect tests automatically - you still need to guide it. But it handles:

Self-healing tests (when UI changes slightly, tests adapt automatically)
Visual testing (catches visual bugs humans miss)
Reducing test maintenance time significantly

Main benefit is maintenance. Our test maintenance time dropped by probably 60-70%. Tests that used to break every sprint now mostly self-heal.

Reply by: SkepticalDeveloper
Color me skeptical. Every few years theres "revolutionary" testing tool that promises to solve all problems. Remember when keyword-driven testing was gonna change everything? Or model-based testing?
AI testing tools are expensive and still require significant expertise. For small teams, probably better to invest in good test design and solid CI/CD pipeline.

Reply by: QA_Manager_Bob
@SkepticalDeveloper - fair point about hype cycles, but AI testing is different from those previous trends. The AI models are getting genuinely smart.
We're seeing shift from DevOps to including testing as continuous activity. Integration of testing with DevOps practices grew from 16.9% in 2022 to over 51.8% by 2024. This is massive change.
AI testing fits into this continuous testing approach better than traditional automation. It provides faster feedback and adapts to changes.

Reply by: QA_Lead_Jenny
Thanks for insights. Sounds like AI testing is useful but not silver bullet.
Follow-up q: For team of 6 QA engineers, should we start with AI tools or first improve our current Selenium framework? Limited budget so cant do both.

Reply by: TestAutomationExpert
Fix your current framework first IMO. If your Selenium tests are messy, adding AI on top wont help much. Get solid foundation with proper page objects, good test data management, stable locators.
THEN add AI tools to enhance what you already have. Think of AI as multiplier - it makes good testing better, but doesnt fix bad testing.