TL;DR
• Reducing test maintenance and improving result accuracy are becoming core evaluation criteria for autonomous testing platforms
• Visual validation is increasingly used to ensure UI accuracy across web, mobile, and native applications
• These capabilities help teams maintain release confidence and reduce risk in complex and dynamic, user-facing experiences at scale
Modern software teams ship faster than ever, and testing teams need tooling that keeps up. In Q4 2025, Forrester published The Forrester Wave™: Autonomous Testing Platforms, Q4 2025, evaluating autonomous testing platform providers.
Applitools is named a Strong Performer in this evaluation.
The momentum behind autonomous testing
Teams now build and ship across more devices, frameworks, and release cadences. That reality pushes quality practices toward higher automation, better maintenance efficiency, and faster feedback loops.
Forrester frames this market shift directly:
“This is why we changed this Forrester Wave™ category from ‘continuous automation testing platforms’ to ‘autonomous testing platforms.’”
The Forrester Wave™: Autonomous Testing Platforms, Q4 2025, Forrester Research, Inc., Q4 2025.
What buyers should look for in autonomous testing platforms
When you evaluate autonomous testing platforms in 2025, three practical questions usually help teams make sense of the space:
- Platform fit: Can the platform support your mix of apps and test types, plus your workflows across engineering and QA?
- AI-infused automation: Does the platform reduce authoring and maintenance effort in a way you can trust and govern?
- Testing AI-enabled experiences: As more teams ship AI-enabled features, can your testing approach keep pace with new failure modes and higher variability?
These questions help teams connect product capabilities to real delivery constraints: speed, coverage, confidence, and operating cost.
How the report characterizes Applitools
This report describes Applitools’ approach through Visual AI and ML-resilience oriented toward UI accuracy and maintenance reduction:
“(Applitools) It features Visual AI to validate UI accuracy across web, mobile, and native apps and support modern digital experiences at scale.”
The Forrester Wave™: Autonomous Testing Platforms, Q4 2025, Forrester Research, Inc., Q4 2025.
It also cites a strategy emphasis on reducing maintenance and improving accuracy:
“Applitools stands out for innovation, gaining an above-par score due to its Visual AI and ML-driven resilience that reduce test maintenance and improve accuracy.”
The Forrester Wave™: Autonomous Testing Platforms, Q4 2025, Forrester Research, Inc., Q4 2025.
What this can mean for engineering, QA, and design teams in 2025
Engineering teams can treat autonomous testing as a way to protect delivery speed. When teams reduce flaky failures and avoid constant test repairs, they shorten the path from code change to deployable signal.
QA teams can prioritize scalability and governance. As test suites grow, teams need tools and workflows that improve coverage without creating unsustainable maintenance load.
Design teams can connect UI intent to release confidence. When teams validate UI accuracy consistently across browsers, devices, and releases, they reduce risk in UX-heavy, customer-facing journeys.
Across all three groups, teams can get more value when they align on what “quality” means for the product and then choose automation approaches that enforce that definition consistently.
Read the report
While you’re evaluating autonomous testing priorities for 2025, read the full report to understand the evaluation criteria, methodology, and vendor profiles in context.
Forrester does not endorse any company, product, brand, or service included in its research publications and does not advise any person to select the products or services of any company or brand based on the ratings included in such publications. Information is based on the best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. For more information, read about Forrester’s objectivity here.
