How 2026 AI Trends Are Changing Automation Tester Hiring

// Suppose an assistant produced this Playwright test:
const { test, expect } = require('@playwright/test');

test('login works', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://the-internet.herokuapp.com/login');
  await page.click('xpath=/html/body/div[2]/div/div/form/div[1]/div/input');
  await page.keyboard.type('tomsmith');
  await page.click('xpath=/html/body/div[2]/div/div/form/div[2]/div/input');
  await page.keyboard.type('SuperSecretPassword!');
  await page.click('button');
  await page.waitForTimeout(3000);           // fixed sleep
  expect(true).toBeTruthy();                 // asserts nothing useful
});

const { test, expect } = require('@playwright/test');

test('valid user reaches the secure area', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://the-internet.herokuapp.com/login');
  await page.getByLabel('Username').fill('tomsmith');
  await page.getByLabel('Password').fill('SuperSecretPassword!');
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Login' }).click();
  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/secure/);
  await expect(page.locator('#flash')).toContainText('You logged into a secure area');
});
// Stable locators, no fixed sleep, assertions that check real behaviour.

import re

def check_reply(reply: str) -> list:
    """Checks that do not depend on exact wording."""
    problems = []
    if "7 days" not in reply:
        problems.append("missing refund window")
    if re.search(r"\b\d{10}\b", reply):
        problems.append("contains a phone-like number")
    if len(reply) > 600:
        problems.append("too long")
    return problems

samples = [
    "You can request a refund within 7 days of delivery from the Orders page.",
    "Call me on 9876543210 for refunds.",
]
for s in samples:
    print(check_reply(s) or "pass", "<-", s[:40])

# Run a fixed set of cases against the feature and track pass rate
def extract_total(text: str) -> str:
    # stand-in for the AI extraction feature under test
    import re
    m = re.search(r"Total[:\s]+Rs\.?\s*([\d,]+)", text)
    return m.group(1) if m else ""

cases = [
    ("Invoice 101 ... Total: Rs 1,250", "1,250"),
    ("Total Rs. 980 (incl. tax)", "980"),
    ("Amount due: Rs 450", "450"),
]
passed = sum(extract_total(t) == want for t, want in cases)
print(f"pass rate: {passed}/{len(cases)}")
for t, want in cases:
    got = extract_total(t)
    if got != want:
        print("FAIL:", t, "expected", want, "got", repr(got))

# pip install requests pytest
import pytest
import requests

BASE = "https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com"

@pytest.mark.parametrize("post_id", [1, 5, 10])
def test_post_has_required_fields(post_id):
    r = requests.get(f"{BASE}/posts/{post_id}", timeout=10)
    assert r.status_code == 200
    body = r.json()
    assert {"id", "title", "body", "userId"} <= body.keys()

def test_unknown_post_returns_404():
    assert requests.get(f"{BASE}/posts/999999", timeout=10).status_code == 404

// tests/fixtures.js - shared, reusable setup for Playwright tests
const base = require('@playwright/test');

exports.test = base.test.extend({
  loggedInPage: async ({ page }, use) => {
    await page.goto('https://the-internet.herokuapp.com/login');
    await page.getByLabel('Username').fill('tomsmith');
    await page.getByLabel('Password').fill('SuperSecretPassword!');
    await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Login' }).click();
    await use(page);
  },
});
exports.expect = base.expect;

// tests/secure.spec.js
// const { test, expect } = require('./fixtures');
// test('secure page shows logout', async ({ loggedInPage }) => {
//   await expect(loggedInPage.getByRole('link', { name: 'Logout' })).toBeVisible();
// });

Weeks 1-3   Strengthen one language: functions, classes, collections
Weeks 4-6   Build a UI framework (Selenium or Playwright) with fixtures
Weeks 7-8   Add API tests and run everything in CI with reports
Weeks 9-10  Practise reviewing AI-generated tests; fix weak ones
Weeks 11-12 Build a small evaluation set for an AI-style feature

When reviewing any test (AI-generated or not):

[ ] Does it test a real requirement or risk?
[ ] Are locators stable (roles, labels, test IDs)?
[ ] No fixed sleeps; proper waits or web-first assertions
[ ] Assertions check actual behaviour, not 'true'
[ ] Test data is independent and cleaned up
[ ] Test name explains the behaviour

Every two weeks, read 10 current automation listings. Note:
- Language and UI tool requested
- API testing mentioned?
- CI/CD mentioned?
- AI, LLM or 'AI features' testing mentioned?
- AI coding tools mentioned?
Adjust your learning to what appears most.