AI Won’t Replace Great Test Leaders with Mike Lyles
In the age of AI, the role of software testers is evolving fast. Don't miss the QA Summit: https://testguild.me/qasummit As more repetitive tasks are automated or handled by AI, the testers who will stand out are those who lead, influence, and bring deep subject matter expertise to their teams. In this exclusive replay from a private Automation Guild 2025 monthly gathering, testing leader Mike Lyles shares exactly how to build those skills — and position yourself for long-term success in the AI era. You’ll learn how to expand your leadership influence, strengthen your domain expertise, and future-proof your career as testing continues to evolve. Normally reserved for year-round Automation Guild members, this session is a rare peek into the kind of ongoing training and community support that keeps testers sharp all year long. If you want to be part of conversations like this — plus dozens of expert sessions, networking opportunities, and live Q&A,, keep your eyes open for Automation Guild 2026 early bird registration.
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How to Build a Culture of Comprehensive Quality with Matt Gilbert
On this episode of the TestGuild Automation Podcast, host Joe Colantonio welcomes Matt Gilbert, founder of Clear Insight, for a conversation packed with practical wisdom for testers looking to break into, or advance in, modern software quality practices. Drawing on his experience working across industries such as insurance, healthcare, and SaaS, Matt shares how he transitioned from an aspiring developer to a passionate advocate for testing. They dive deep into the challenges of uniting disparate testing tools, making complex data from performance, accessibility, and security checks accessible to all team members, and the critical importance of educating both testers and business leaders about quality risks. Matt discusses how Clear Insight was born from the need to simplify usability and performance feedback, making actionable insights available for everyone, regardless of technical background. Plus, you’ll hear Matt’s take on using AI responsibly in regulated spaces and his advice for testers who want to expand their role beyond functional testing. Whether you’re new to automation, a testing veteran, or curious about the growing intersection of AI and quality engineering, this episode has actionable strategies and real-world stories you won’t want to miss.
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No Scripts, No Frameworks, No Maintenance? with Don Jackson
In this episode of the TestGuild Automation Podcast, I'm joined by Don Jackson, Technical Evangelist at Perforce, to explore a bold new frontier in automation testing: true agentic AI. We unpack the groundbreaking tech behind Perfecto's latest release and what it means to test smarter, faster, and with zero hassle. Don shares how this new form of automation, powered by natural language, computer vision, and LLMs, lets you test like a human but with the speed of AI. No scripts. No frameworks. No brittle locators. Just plain-language instructions that drive real user-experience testing at runtime. You'll learn: What "agentic AI" really means and how it goes beyond traditional test automation How to run intelligent UI tests across devices without writing a single script Why this approach could finally bring automation to business testers and non-coders Real-world use cases, from validating stock charts and UI branding to exploratory testing at scale What to watch out for: prompting quality, performance tradeoffs, and trust Whether you're a skeptical scripter or just tired of flaky UI tests, this conversation will challenge how you think about automation—and show you what's now possible. Want to see it in action? Join the upcoming live demo webinar with Don and Perfecto's head of product: Perfecto AI in Action – Register Here https://testguild.me/donperrfecto
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Making QE Matter to the C-Suite with Parasar Saha
In this episode, Parasar Saha founder and CEO of Digy4 shares insights from his journeys across multiple countries, meeting with global enterprises to uncover real-world challenges teams face in achieving quality at scale. The discussion dives into the importance of data visibility, the pitfalls of focusing on the sheer quantity of tests over their real value, and how testers can transform technical data into business outcomes that resonate with the C-suite. Parasar reveals why most organizations struggle with fragmented tools, overwhelming data, and telling a compelling story about quality's business impact—even in the age of AI. Whether you're looking to elevate the role of QE in your organization, make your testing results more meaningful, or simply want to know how to get a seat at the executive table, this conversation is packed with practical advice and thought-provoking strategies. Tune in and discover how measuring the right things, and telling the right story,can take your automation efforts (and your career) to the next level!
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Exploring Playwright and MCP with Debbie O'Brien
In this episode, host Joe Colantonio sits down with Debbie O'Brien, Principal Technical Program Manager at Microsoft and a leading advocate for Playwright end-to-end testing. Debbie shares her fascinating journey from web design in the late '90s to building and nurturing the Playwright community at Microsoft. Together, they tackle the latest and greatest in test automation, with a special focus on Playwright's Model Context Protocol (MCP) server and how you can unlock its powerful AI-driven browser automation capabilities. From real-world advice on overcoming resistance to testing in teams to the exciting possibilities MCP brings for generating and scaling tests with natural language and AI, this conversation is packed with both practical tips and future-looking insights. Debbie also addresses common fears around AI replacing jobs, highlighting the need for testers and developers to embrace these tools and stay ahead of the curve. Whether you're an automation engineer, front-end developer, or simply curious about where testing is headed, this episode is full of actionable wisdom and inspiration. Tune in and get ready to supercharge your automation skills!
TestGuild Automation Podcast (formally Test Talks) is a weekly podcast hosted by Joe Colantonio, which geeks out on all things software test automation. TestGuild Automation covers news found in the testing space, reviews books about automation, and speaks with some of the thought leaders in the test automation field. We’ll aim to interview some of today’s most successful and inspiring software engineers, and test automation thought leaders.
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