# Will AI replace qa engineers? Updated October 2026 Software testers score 64 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 61%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 27% outright, and 12% stays with people. - **27%** AI can do it - **61%** AI helps - **12%** Needs a person High exposure Higher than 95% of the 923 occupations we scored. ## Task by task We graded 30 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 8 of them today, speeds up 18 and leaves 4 to people. | Task | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Store, retrieve, and manipulate data for analysis of system capabilities and requirements. Data storage and retrieval are routine digital tasks AI handles. | 74% AI can do it | | Document software defects, using a bug tracking system, and report defects to software developers. Routine bug report writing and filing suits AI well. | 72% AI can do it | | Document test procedures to ensure replicability and compliance with standards. Writing standardized test procedure documents is highly routine. | 72% AI can do it | | Create or maintain databases of known test defects. Defect databases are structured records AI can maintain and query. | 70% AI can do it | | Conduct historical analyses of test results. Trend analysis of past test results suits AI well. | 68% AI can do it | [See what AI can take on across an IT team](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/it/) ## How software testers compare All occupations (923) Computer and mathematical (36) **Software testers score 64**, marked by the dark line. Each dot is a score, darker where more occupations share it. The short marks show the averages, 37 for all occupations and 60 for computer and mathematical. ## Pay and outlook in the US Median pay $104,300 a year, May 2025 People employed 186,740 in the US, May 2025 Projected change in jobs +5.7% from 2024 to 2034 ## Skills to build - Write SQL queries to pull defect trends from test databases - Build and debug test automation scripts in Python or JavaScript - Configure Linux and AWS test environments that mirror production - Join product design reviews to flag testability problems early - Diagnose customer-reported problems through live calls and site visits - Hold the ISTQB Certified Tester Foundation Level credential ## Safer roles nearby 5 related occupations with lower scores. - [Software developers59 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/software-developers/) - [Validation engineers49 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/validation-engineers/) - [Systems engineers60 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/systems-engineers/) - [Penetration testers60 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/penetration-testers/) - [Systems analysts59 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/systems-analysts/) ## Questions about software testers and AI Will qa engineers be replaced by AI? Partly. About 5 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly defect reports and test procedure documents. Live customer diagnosis, design reviews, and beta site visits stay with people. Which software tester tasks is AI taking over? AI is taking over defect documentation, defect database upkeep, and test script edits. Writing and filing bug reports in a bug tracking system is routine text work with an exposure score of 72. Maintaining known-defect databases (exposure 70) and updating automated test scripts to match app changes (exposure 66) suit AI query and coding tools. Which software tester tasks stay human? Beta site visits, design reviews, and customer problem diagnosis stay with people. Beta site visits (exposure 8) need someone on site watching performance firsthand. Design reviews (exposure 18) involve live debate and trade-offs with stakeholders. Diagnosing customer problems (exposure 18) relies on live contact and site visits. How can software testers stay valuable? Move toward the tasks that need live judgment, and take responsibility for the tools behind them. Set up test environments on Linux and AWS, join design reviews to raise testability problems early, and review AI-written Python or JavaScript test scripts before they run. ## Related jobs - [Data engineers60 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/data-engineers/) - [Programmers66 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/programmers/) - [Computer hardware engineers51 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/computer-hardware-engineers/) - [Database administrators60 out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/database-administrators/) ## Next steps for software testers - ### Check your job Your job title is a rough guide. Your actual tasks decide your score. Paste your job description or CV and see which of your tasks AI can do. [Check your job](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/ai-exposure-checker/) [Check your CV](https://www.aigentcy.com/tools/cv-checker/) ### Check which roles in your team AI can take on We map your team's tasks, show what AI can do today and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) ## Related topics - [**Jobs AI can't replace**Cement masons score lowest, at 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-cant-replace/) - [**Jobs most at risk from AI**Proofreaders score highest, at 76.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-most-exposed-to-ai/) - [**High-paying jobs with low AI exposure**Radiologists earn a median $420,860 and score 46.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/high-paying-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Entry-level jobs with low AI exposure**Cement masons need little prior training and score 8.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/entry-level-jobs-low-ai-exposure/) - [**Jobs AI speeds up the most**For natural sciences managers, AI speeds up 96% of task time.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs-ai-speeds-up/) - [**AI and jobs in Malta**15 iGaming roles graded task by task.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/malta/) - [**Skills that keep work human**The skills to build in the jobs AI changes least.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/skills/) - [**Jobs A to Z**Every job we publish, by first letter.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/jobs/) - [**AI exposure by industry**Average scores for 22 occupation groups.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/industries/) - [**Write a CV screening software can read**How applicant tracking systems read a CV, and what to change.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/cv-screening-guide/) - [**AI for businesses**The tasks to automate first in each team and industry.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/) - [**How we score AI exposure**The grading, the weights and every source.](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.