Software testing has come a long way. What once required armies of manual testers methodically running scripts has gradually shifted toward automation (tools that could execute tests faster, more consistently, and at scale). But even that represented a ceiling.
According to Forrester, most organisations plateaued at around 25% automation of their testing. The rest remained slow, fragmented, and manual.
That’s the gap autonomous testing was built to close.
This post breaks down what autonomous testing actually is, why it matters, and how UiPath Test Cloud, which was recently named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Autonomous Testing Platforms, Q4 2025, is helping enterprises raise the bar for software quality.
What Is Autonomous Testing?
Autonomous testing refers to the use of AI, generative AI, and intelligent agents to perform testing tasks with minimal human intervention. Unlike traditional test automation, which relies on pre-written scripts that require constant maintenance, autonomous testing platforms (ATPs) can generate, execute, and update tests dynamically as code evolves.
Forrester defines ATPs as solutions that “combine traditional automation with AI and generative AI agents to perform increasingly autonomous testing tasks.”
In practice, this means:
- AI-driven test generation: Tests are generated directly from requirements and automatically updated as applications change.
- Self-healing capabilities: When a UI or workflow changes, the platform adapts rather than breaking down.
- Risk-based orchestration: Testing is prioritised based on business impact and historical defect patterns, so the most critical areas are always covered.
- Democratised participation: Natural language interfaces and no-code tools enable non-technical stakeholders, such as product managers, business analysts, and developers, to contribute to quality assurance.
The shift from automated to autonomous is significant. Automation executes tasks. Autonomy adds intelligence, adaptability, and the ability to learn.
The Benefits of Autonomous Testing
Organisations that adopt autonomous testing stand to gain across multiple dimensions, from faster delivery to better risk management:
- Faster time to value: AI-driven platforms reduce the time required to design, generate, and maintain test cases by automating traditionally manual tasks, accelerating release cycles significantly.
- Greater test coverage: Autonomous platforms scale testing beyond what any manual process can achieve, covering UI, API, data layers, and even AI-infused applications.
- Reduced maintenance burden: Self-healing tests mean your team spends less time fixing broken scripts and more time building quality software.
- Improved risk management: Risk-based orchestration ensures testing effort is directed where it matters most, reducing the chance of critical defects slipping into production.
- Better collaboration: Low-code and natural language interfaces bring non-technical teams into the testing process, improving alignment between business goals and quality outcomes.
- AI application testing: As AI becomes embedded in enterprise software, autonomous testing platforms can validate AI outputs. It can detect hallucinations, accuracy issues, and intent misalignment that traditional tools simply weren’t built to catch.
UiPath Test Cloud: A Leader in Autonomous Testing
In December 2025, UiPath was named a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Autonomous Testing Platforms, Q4 2025 (an independent evaluation of 15 leading vendors in the market).
UiPath Test Cloud received the highest possible marks in seven criteria, including:
- vision
- roadmap
- automation creation
- orchestration and execution
- testing SaaS business enterprise applications
- testing AI across different dimensions
- test agent use and orchestration
- test agent monitoring and management
According to the Forrester evaluation, “UiPath’s strategy is anchored in a clear vision of an agent-based platform with self-healing and predictive insights across testing, observability, and release management.” The report also noted that “UiPath is a strong choice for enterprises already invested in its automation ecosystem and for those seeking agent-driven testing for robotic process automation, agents, and applications.”
So what makes UiPath Test Cloud stand out?
At its core, Test Cloud is an agentic testing solution that empowers testers to work with AI agents in three ways:
Leverage: Use out-of-the-box or customised agents across the testing lifecycle.
Build: Create your own agents tailored to your organisation’s unique testing requirements.
Orchestrate: Coordinate AI agents, automation, and human testers for truly end-to-end autonomous testing.
The platform integrates with over 60 lifecycle tools, supports enterprise applications like Salesforce, SAP, and Oracle, and includes UiPath Autopilot™ for validating AI-infused apps.
As Gerd Weishaar, Senior Vice President of Testing Solutions at UiPath, put it: “UiPath is driving innovation in next-generation agentic testing, making our offering more proactive and more autonomous while keeping governance, security, and safety at the core.”
Is an Autonomous Testing Solution Right for You?
Autonomous testing isn’t a one-size-fits-all decision. Whether it makes sense for your organisation depends on where you are in your quality engineering journey.
It’s likely a strong fit if:
- Your testing team spends significant time maintaining brittle, script-based tests that break with every release.
- You’re releasing software frequently, but your manual testing process is creating deployment bottlenecks.
- Your organisation uses enterprise applications like Salesforce, SAP, or Oracle, and needs consistent, reliable coverage across those platforms.
- You’re building or running AI-infused applications and need to validate them against accuracy, hallucination, and performance benchmarks.
- You’re already using UiPath for automation and want to extend that investment into quality assurance.
It may be worth more exploration if:
- You’re an early-stage business with a relatively simple application landscape and low release frequency.
- Your current automation coverage is still in early stages, and in some cases, it makes sense to consolidate your existing toolchain before layering in autonomous capabilities.
- Your team lacks experience with AI-assisted development tools and would benefit from a phased adoption approach, starting with simpler automation.
The key question isn’t whether autonomous testing will eventually be relevant. Forrester is clear that it’s fast becoming a necessity for any organisation delivering software at speed. The more practical question is: where do you start?
The Future of Software Testing Starts Here
Autonomous testing marks a genuine shift in how quality engineering works. Manual testing couldn’t scale. Traditional automation plateaued. Autonomous testing platforms bring AI intelligence into the entire testing lifecycle.
UiPath Test Cloud’s recognition as a Leader in The Forrester Wave™: Autonomous Testing Platforms, Q4 2025, reflects both the maturity of the platform and the direction the market is heading.
If you’re ready to explore what autonomous testing could look like for your organisation, B2IT, a registered UiPath Partner in South Africa, can help. With over a decade of experience implementing automation and process solutions, B2IT brings the expertise to guide your testing transformation from evaluation through to deployment.
Book a demo with B2IT today and discover how UiPath Test Cloud can work for your business.
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