After ‘Vibe Coding’ Comes ‘Vibe Testing’ (Almost)—Harness Revolutionizes AI-Powered Software Testing

Thursday, June 26, 2025

Harness unveils AI Test Automation with its game-changing 'intent-based testing' that replaces brittle scripts with natural language prompts, tackling the paradox of rapid AI coding but sluggish software delivery.

🎉 Meet the Next Big Thing in AI Testing: Intent-Based Testing 🎉

If you thought "vibe coding"—where developers use high-level intentions instead of line-by-line instructions—was the next frontier, prepare to meet its playful cousin: vibe testing (well, almost!). Harness, famous for shaking up the DevOps world, just launched AI Test Automation introducing a fresh approach called intent-based testing.

💡 What’s behind the buzz?

Instead of punching away brittle test scripts that break the minute your app’s UI nudges left or right (so 2012!), Harness’s AI lets you type out what you want tested in plain English. For example: “Add sneakers under $100 to cart, checkout as new user,” and the AI figures out how to make it happen.

Think of it like telling a smart buddy what to check out, rather than scribbling dizzying step-by-step guides. Not only that, but the system constantly validates each step to make sure the app is behaving as expected — not just throwing out good vibes.

Why is this a big deal?

Despite all the AI magic accelerating coding (yes, GitHub Copilot, we love you), testing remains the bottleneck—slow, manual, and prone to breakage. Harness’s AI-powered testing tool aims to flip the script:

  • No more fragile scripts: Tests adapt automatically as UI changes.
  • Faster test creation: One project manager knocked out 55 tests in 2.5 weeks—normally a QA team’s months-long job.
  • Smarter validation: Distinguishes real bugs from flaky, transient issues.
  • Massive scalability: Parallel execution to handle thousands of tests.

🧪 AI testing AI? Absolutely!

Here’s a mind-bender: Harness uses its own AI testing platform to test another AI-driven tool—the DevOps assistant that generates YAML code. Since AI outputs can vary, traditional deterministic tests won’t cut it. Intent-based testing’s granular validations make it possible to confidently automate even AI-generated code testing.

🚀 How harnessed is this tool?

Born out of three years of R&D at @Relicx (now part of Harness), this tool doesn’t just promise speed—it delivers productivity:

“Using the templating functionality, we were able to come up from a suite of zero to 55 tests in the span of two and a half weeks.” — Rohan Gupta, Principal Product Manager, Harness

Big brands like Citi, United Airlines, Choice Hotels, and The Home Depot are already on board, enjoying faster, smarter test automation.

🧰 Key Features that Make This AI Test Automation Rock:

No-Code Test Creation

  • Record live interactions instead of writing scripts.
  • Write test cases in natural language — “Did the login succeed?”
  • AI creates smart assertions after every step.
  • Visual testing with human-like AI validation.

Self-Healing Maintenance

  • AI automatically adapts selectors if UI changes.
  • Up to 70% reduction in test maintenance hassle.
  • Works seamlessly across environments with smart selectors.

Intelligent Execution

  • AI filters out false alarms from genuine bugs.
  • Scales tests by running them in parallel (think: thousands at once).
  • Supports data-driven testing with dynamic test parameters.

🎙️ Why “Intent-Based” and Not Just “Vibe Testing”?

Sure, it sounds like vibe testing is vibing on the same frequency as vibe coding. But test validation is no joke.

Kumar (Harness’s AI Test Automation lead) explains:

“Intent-based testing involves granular step-by-step validation and ensures that the application responded correctly at each step.”

So while vibe coding is about expressing broad intentions to create code, intent-based testing locks into those details, making sure the whole customer journey is solid.

👀 Why You Should Care (If You're a Developer or QA Engineer)

Let’s be real: AI can pump out code at lightning speed, but if your testing slows you down, you’re stuck in the last mile of the marathon.

Harness AI Test Automation promises to:

  • Save you tons of time – no more tedious scripting and furious fix-ups.
  • Make tests resilient – don’t sweat UI tweaks breaking your suite.
  • Empower non-QA”ers – product managers and developers can create tests.
  • Scale effortlessly – keep your release pace ahead with parallel test runs.

Basically, this is your ticket to turning rapid AI-powered development into real-world software delivery without the usual bottlenecks.

📖 What’s Next?

If you’re curious about the shifting landscape of software testing, the blend of AI with DevOps, and how agents are changing the developer workflow, keep an eye on Harness's journey as it pushes into "vibe testing" territory.

And hey, if you’re already on the ride — expect your tests to understand you like a friendly coder buddy rather than a brittle robot script.

Fun fact: The next wave isn’t just about AI writing code but AI writing smart tests — finally closing the feedback loop in the software lifecycle.

So, what're you waiting for? Time to vibe-test your next big app!

Image credit: Unsplash
Author: Darryl K. Taft
Published: June 25, 2025

Source: The New Stack