The End of Vibe Coding Means the Rise of Quality Engineering

This article is inspired by the writing, "Vibe Coding Is Dead. Here's What Replaced It", which discusses the shift from vibe coding to agentic engineering, an approach that still utilizes AI but with stronger human control, review, and responsibility for software quality.

The article focuses on the changing role of developers. However, I believe the same changes are also taking place in the world of QA and test automation.

When Writing Scripts Is No Longer the Main Challenge

For years, many Automation Engineers spent most of their time creating locators, writing assertions, fixing flaky tests, and keeping automation suites running

I think now, the situation is starting to change,

AI can now generate automation scripts simply from requirement descriptions. Some platforms even allow users to write test steps in plain English without needing to understand selectors or code automation frameworks.

Some examples of platforms that are moving towards this approach include:

• Browser Use — https://browser-use.com
• Stagehand — https://stagehand.dev
• Skyvern — https://skyvern.com
• Momentic — https://momentic.ai
• Reflect — https://reflect.run
• AgentQ — https://agentq.id

With this approach, the user simply writes instructions such as:

Login using a valid account and make sure the dashboard is displayed successfully.

The AI ​​will then try to understand the page, find relevant elements, and run tests without manually written locators.

Automation Is Becoming a Commodity

The concept of vibe coding initially promised that anyone could create software simply by giving instructions to AI. However, as applications began to move into production, many teams encountered the same problem: a lack of review, testing, and understanding of the AI's output. This led to the emergence of a more structured approach known as agentic engineering.

The same thing is starting to happen with automation testing.

Creating automation scripts is becoming increasingly easier. However, the quality of testing still depends on human ability to determine what needs to be tested.

The question is no longer:

"Can I create an automation script?"

But rather:

"Does the automation I create actually test for the risks that matter?"

Increasingly Valuable Skills

As AI takes over much of the repetitive technical work, QA's focus begins to shift to more strategic areas.

Skills that will become increasingly valuable include:

• Designing test architecture
• Determining effective test coverage
• Analyzing defect patterns
• Understanding business risks
• Conducting exploratory testing
• Validating AI-generated output
• Improving application testability

Critical thinking skills will become more important than the ability to write scripts from scratch.

From Script Creator to Quality Architect

AI can generate hundreds of test cases in minutes.

However, AI doesn't understand business priorities, user expectations, or the impact a bug has on the organization.

This is where the role of QA becomes increasingly strategic.

Just as developers are moving from "code authors" to "AI orchestrators," QA is also moving from "automation script creators" to "quality architects." A role focused on quality strategy, AI output validation, and overall product risk management.

Conclusion

The era of vibe coding may be shifting towards the era of AI agents and autonomous testing.

As scripting becomes easier, a QA's value will no longer be determined by how quickly they create automation.

The value of a QA (Quality Assurance) will be determined by their ability to understand quality, manage risk, and ensure AI is working in the right direction.

The present and future aren't about being a better scriptwriter,

It's about being a better Quality Engineer!.