The Automation Illusion: The Reasons Most Businesses Find It Hard to Keep Up Test Automation
- Manasa Venna
- Sep 3
- 4 min read
Engineering teams have embraced automation testing as their new standard. Companies are aiming for the "100% automation" ideal to lower their expenses, speed up their releases, and decrease the amount of manual work. However, the truth is that just 5% of companies are able to completely automate their testing. The majority of them have difficulties with sustaining their automation frameworks for a period of time longer than the first year. Some problems such as the occurrence of flaky tests, the increase in maintenance costs, and the limited number of people who have the responsibility for the task are causing these teams to revert to manual testing.
Why Automation Fails to Scale IT
Unrealistic Expectations – Management anticipates 100% automation from one day to the next.
Flaky Tests = Lost Trust – Discrepant executions diminish trust at a fast pace.
Maintenance Overhead – Ongoing modifications of the user interface disrupt automated test scripts.
Wrong Tool for the Job – Overly complicated or limited tools result in a deceleration of work processes.
Ignore API Testing – Automation based only on the user interface tends to be weak.
Smarter Tecnics: Easy-to-Maintain AND No-Code & AI Tools
Instead of building brittle frameworks from scratch, teams can now use AI-powered, low-code tools that reduce setup and maintenance costs.
Best Tools Web/UI Automation
Examples with Screenshots
Below are example placeholders for screenshots of these tools in action. Replace with actual captures.
Example: Axiom.ai
Axiom.ai is a no-code browser automation and RPA tool that allows users to automate website interactions and data scraping without writing a single line of code. It is an easy-to-use product backed by Y Combinator and SAP that also brings in the power of machine learning for better performance. The main goal of Axiom.ai is indulging the users in the least possible automation work, they have to do the rest of the work through software, which includes data scraping, data entry, social media bot creation, and data transfer between the applications. The company Axiom.ai is owned jointly by the founders, management, employees, and investors.
Example: Bardeen
Bardeen.ai is a no-code automation tool that was created in early 2020 by Pascal Weinberger and Artem Harutyunyan. It is basically a Chrome browser extension that allows you to link various applications. This platform is named after John Bardeen, and the main goal of this is to open up the automation field for everyone by providing such features as "Playbooks" and "MagicBox". The platform that is used by sales and recruiting teams has the capability to integrate more than 100 applications including Google Sheets, Slack, and Zoom. However, while local automations which are cost-effective and privacy-focused, are highly rated for their ability to cut down on manual work, some users may experience a learning curve and there are concerns about this company.
Example: BugBug
It is Established in 2019, BugBug.io and it is cloud-based, low-code automation testing tools for software development teams and QA professionals. users can create and manage automated tests using a Chrome extension or cloud-based platform without needing to write code.means we can't write any code
The platform provides test case management,Automation, reporting, and workflows,while integrating with tools like Jira, GitHub, and Slack. While noted for its user-friendly interface, integration capabilities are limited, and actually mobile functionality is less robust than the desktop version
API Testing Made It So Simple
For backend APIs, Postman remains the industry standard—now with AI capabilities:- Use Postman AI to generate test scripts & validations automatically.- Export collections and run them in pipelines with Newman (Postman’s CLI runner).- Easy integration with CI/CD, enabling fast regression checks at the API level.
1. Build a clear strategy
Align with business goals: It is not wise to automate everything. Deeply focus on tests, which affect the most, are testing the core features, are high-risk areas, and those processes that have the most direct impact on the customers.
Prioritize smartly: Adopt a risk-based approach for selecting the test cases that should be automated. Repetitive, stable, and high-value test cases are generally the best candidates for automation. Remember the “test automation pyramid” concept: a lot of unit tests at the base, service-level tests in the middle, and a small number of UI tests at the top.
2. Design for maintainability
Think modular: Structure your tests in such a way that they can be reused and updated easily. The use of design patterns like the Page Object Model makes scripts more concise and manageable.
Keep data separate: Do not mix test data with scripts. Data-driven testing not only enhances coverage but also simplifies the process of updating tests when there is a change in data.
Use robust locators and waits: Develop UI tests that are adaptable to change by employing dependable selectors and explicit waits. This, in turn, decreases the fragility of your automation.
3. Standardize and Automate Environments
Leverage containers: A tool like Docker helps you create the same environments you use to run a program, thus significantly reducing “it works on my machine” problems.
Automate setup: Develop scripts that will automatically provision and configure your test environment. This both saves time and ensures there are no discrepancies.
4. Foster Collaboration and Continuous Improvement
Integrate with CI/CD: Set automated tests as part of your CI/CD pipeline so they can be executed with every code change. This allows quicker feedback and higher confidence in releases.
Encourage teamwork: Get developers, testers, and operations collaborated on automation so the silos are broken and the ownership is shared.
Keep learning: Let your team receive the necessary training and upskilling for them to acquire the skills to build and maintain a strong automation framework over time.
Final Thoughts for
The “automation illusion” isn’t that automation is impossible—it’s that most companies chase full automation without a clear, maintainable strategy.
The smarter approach is:
- Automate what matters most.
- Use AI-powered tools to cut maintenance overhead.
- Balance UI and API automation for stability.
Thank you 😊!
