How Agentic AI is redefining software testing and why companies need to act now
The software testing market is undergoing a rapid transformation. Gartner has published its Magic Quadrant for AI-Augmented Software Testing Tools (AAST) , which reassesses the vendor landscape. Gartner's conclusion: AI is no longer a nice-to-have, but the driving force behind autonomous testing.
With a projected market penetration of 70% by 2028 (compared to 20% at the beginning of 2025), software engineering leaders must act now. The days of manual testing and fragmented tool landscapes are over; the future belongs to AI-augmented and agentic testing tools.
The new era: From GenAI assistants to Agentic AI
The first generation of AAST tools spawned GenAI assistants that simplified testing processes. However, the current evolution is driven by Agentic AI .
What is new and crucial?
- Agentic AI: autonomous testing agents that make their own decisions, plan and even execute tests (without manual guidance). They enable the collaborative execution of tasks across the entire SDLC (Design, Coding, Testing, Deployment), often without human intervention.
- Mandatory Features: The market now defines mandatory features such as Conversational User Interfaces, GenAI for Test Development (for the automatic generation of test artifacts), Self-Healing for test scripts, and native UI, API, and visual testing features.
- Market growth: Spending on testing tools is expected to US$3.3 billion .
Why Tricentis and UiPath dominate the Gartner MQ 2025
In the Leaders quadrant, vendors demonstrate a strong "Ability to Execute" and a high "Completeness of Vision" (vision and innovation). Of particular relevance to us: Tricentis and UiPath are consolidating their positions at the top of the market.
Tricentis: The strength of the ecosystem
Tricentis remains a key player and leader in this MQ.
- Strengths: The business model benefits greatly from a large network of global system integrators and partners, which accelerates time-to-value. Overall viability is also rated as strong due to consistent financing and R&D investments.
- Cautions: Acquiring numerous products (qTest, Tosca, Testim) leads to fragmented capabilities and separate licenses, which can complicate customer experience and workflow unification. The complexity and cost of the flagship product, Tosca, can also hinder adoption.
UiPath: The innovation pioneer with Agentic AI
UiPath, originally an RPA giant, is clearly establishing itself as a leader in the testing market.
- Strengths: Innovation is at the forefront. Features like Autopilot for Testers and the Agent Builder allow customers to create and customize AI agents using natural language. This perfectly aligns with Agentic AI's vision and sets it apart from competitors. The high level of customer experience and satisfaction further reinforces this.
- Cautions: UiPath is still primarily perceived by customers as an RPA provider . Marketing efforts must significantly increase awareness of the AAST offering beyond the existing RPA customer base.
Other leaders in the Gartner MQ: Keysight and OpenText
- Keysight (Eggplant Test): Stands out due to the most comprehensive platform coverage for AI-augmented testing, especially in regulated sectors (government, healthcare) and for specialized platforms (IoT, ATMs).
- OpenText: Offers the strongest collaboration capabilities and extensive compliance in highly regulated industries. However, its monolithic platform can lead to inconsistent user experience components.
ACCELQ, SmartBear & Co.: An overview of the challengers
- Challengers (ACCELQ, SmartBear, LambdaTest, BrowserStack): These vendors have a high "ability to execute" but still show gaps in their "completeness of vision". SmartBear (with HaloAI and the QMetry acquisition) scores points with attractive prices and strong market penetration but struggles with a fragmented product strategy.
- Visionaries (Katalon): Katalon demonstrates strong innovation with TrueTest , which uses user interactions for autonomous test generation. However, compared to the leaders, the company still lacks scale and the full range of enterprise features (e.g., LLM evaluation).
Conclusion and recommendations for software engineering executives
The Gartner Magic Quadrant 2025 shows that AI-augmented testing is no longer a trend, but a strategic necessity . The shift towards agentic AI requires a realignment of tool strategy.
Your next steps:
- Strategic evaluation: Check whether your current testing tools mandatory features such as GenAI for test development, self-healing, and native UI/API/visual testing.
- Choosing a partner with foresight: When selecting an AAST tool, pay attention not only to the current features, but especially to the innovation vision (Vision vs. Execution). UiPath and Katalon are setting the standards for the autonomous future in this regard.
- Tricentis/UiPath as a partner:
Are you looking for a stable partner with a broad ecosystem and comprehensive enterprise capabilities? Then Tricentis a logical choice, but pay attention to a clear licensing and integration strategy.
- If you want to be at the forefront of AI innovation and adopt Agentic AI early on, UiPath is the pioneer that will quickly take your testing teams to the next level.
Would you like to know how Tricentis Tosca, UiPath Test Cloud, or SmartBear can solve your specific testing challenges with AI?
InfometisInfometis is your Swiss partner for the evaluation and implementation of AAST solutions in Switzerland. We help you find the right balance between vision and execution.
