Over the past 3 years at Checksum, we’ve been part of a quiet revolution in the world of automated testing. We’ve helped a ton of QA teams move away from legacy testing tools like Selenium and Cypress and toward a new era defined by AI software testing tools, powered by Playwright and driven by real user behavior.
These weren’t just migrations; they were transformations. Flaky tests became reliable. Test creation went from a bottleneck to a breeze. And most importantly, teams began trusting their test suites again.
As founders with deep scars (and victories) from the evolution of Selenium, Cypress, and now Playwright, we’ve seen firsthand what works—and what doesn’t. In this blog, we’ll share what we learned from those 500k+ tests and why we believe AI software testing tools represent the future of quality engineering.
The Hidden Costs of non-AI Software Testing Tools
Despite years of investment in frameworks like Selenium and Cypress, most teams are still stuck in the same painful loop:
Constant test maintenance
Inconsistent test results
Flaky tests
Poor test coverage where it matters most
Our research with dozens of engineering teams uncovered a few critical patterns:
12% of senior engineering time was spent maintaining tests, and another 19% on code maintenance, not building features - https://thenewstack.io/how-much-time-do-developers-spend-actually-writing-code
73% of teams discovered major untested user flows only after production incidents
Average flake rates:
Framework | Average Flake Rate | First Run Pass Rate |
~0-1% | ~99.7% | |
~10–20% | ~80–90% | |
~5–12% | ~88–95% | |
~25-35% | ~65-75% |
Why Playwright Became Our Foundation (But Not the Final Answer) - for AI software testing tools
We chose Playwright early on as the execution engine for Checksum. It solved many of Selenium’s problems and outperformed Cypress in speed, browser support, and debugging.
But even with the best framework, the same problem persisted: human-created tests are brittle, incomplete, and expensive to maintain.
That’s when we realized: the future isn’t just better tooling—it’s intelligent tooling.
What We Learned when creating the best AI Software Testing Tools
1. Real User Behavior Beats Perfectly Engineered Test Scripts
Traditional tools rely on engineers predicting how users behave. But our AI agents analyze real user sessions…and the results were eye-opening.
In one fintech migration, our AI uncovered 47 distinct user journeys in a loan flow. Their Selenium suite covered only six.
Post-migration coverage: 94% of real-world paths
Prior to Checksum: 38% after 18 months of manual effort
Good automated testing tools like Checksum, don’t just simulate users, they learn from them.
2. AI (Self-Healing) Tests Slash Maintenance Overhead
In legacy toolchains, tests break every time the UI shifts. Our AI-driven Playwright software tests adapt instead.
BEFORE:
- 11 hours/week spent on test creation & maintenance
AFTER:
- 45 minutes/week on approvals
RESULT:
- 76% less maintenance.
How Checksum’s AI Software Testing Tool Works:
Session Analysis Agent – mines real user behavior and discovers untested flows
Test Generation Agent – turns English or clickstreams into reliable Playwright code
Autonomous Healing Agent – adapts to UI changes and regenerates broken tests
Coverage Intelligence Agent – maps real behavior to test coverage in real time
Metrics That Matter
After 10,000 scripts generated, here’s what Checksum’s AI software testing tools is achieving:
First-run pass rate: 99%
Time to 90% coverage: 3–5 days
Maintenance overhead: <4% of a QA manager’s time
Why the Future Belongs to AI Software Testing Tools
Tests are built from real behavior, not assumptions
Maintenance is automated, not delegated
Creating initial scripts should be quick and not take days
When tests fail, they should self-heal and rerun
Flakiness should be eliminated
Key Takeaways for Engineering Leaders on AI in QA Testing Tools
Checksum AI software testing is powered by real user behavior.
Checksum AI changes the Playwright script when the UI changes.
It reduces and does not add to your maintenance burden?
Checksum's AI Software Testing Tools can be integrated with your stack quickly.
At Checksum, we’ve watched dozens of teams make this transition to AI Software testing—and they’re not going back.
Ready to see what autonomous QA feels like? Check us out at checksum.ai or reach out for a demo.
FAQ: AI Software Testing Tools
What are AI software testing tools?
AI software testing tools are next-generation platforms that use artificial intelligence to automate the creation, execution, and maintenance of end-to-end tests. Unlike traditional frameworks, these tools adapt in real-time to changes in the application.
How are AI software testing tools different from Selenium or Cypress?
They generate tests based on real user behavior, heal themselves when selectors change, and require far less manual maintenance. In contrast, legacy tools require engineers to manually script and update every test.
Can AI software testing tools replace QA engineers?
No, but they greatly enhance productivity. QA engineers can focus on high-level testing strategies while the AI handles test generation and healing.
Do AI software testing tools support modern frameworks like React or Angular?
Yes. Tools like Checksum, built on Playwright, support React, Angular, Vue, and more with full adaptability to modern frontend patterns.
How secure are AI software testing tools?
Checksum anonymizes all session data and supports secure integrations. We also offer self-hosted deployment for teams with strict compliance requirements.
What’s the setup process like?
Checksum integrates in just 15 minutes. Tests are generated within hours. Most teams see full coverage within 2–3 days.
Do AI software testing tools work with CI/CD pipelines?
Yes. Checksum works with GitHub Actions, CircleCI, GitLab, and other CI platforms seamlessly.
How do AI software testing tools handle flakiness?
By automatically waiting for DOM readiness, regenerating selectors, and relying on real user data, flake rates are reduced to under 1%.
Are AI software testing tools suitable for startups and enterprises?
Absolutely. Startups save on hiring, while enterprises scale testing across teams and products with ease.
How can I effectively present this to my procurement team?
Imagine how much more stable your app and site could be with Checksum’s AI software testing tool:
Achieve 99% user journey coverage within one week
Reduce test maintenance time by 76%
Accelerate test creation by up to 4× compared to manual scripting
Gal Vered is a Co-Founder at Checksum where they use AI to generate end-to-end Cypress and Playwright tests, so that dev teams know that their product is thoroughly tested and shipped bug free, without the need to manually write or maintain tests.
In his role, Gal helped many teams build their testing infrastructure, solve typical (and not so typical) testing challenges and deploy AI to move fast and ship high quality software.
