Let’s discuss QA ass we roll into 2026, AI and testing agents are taking on more of the busy work like writing tests, running checks, watching releases
So… what does that mean for us?
How do you think Software QA will change in 2026? Which QA roles or skills do you think will become the real MVPs?
Are we talking test strategists, automation wizards, quality coaches, or some brand-new role we haven’t named yet?
Drop your thoughts, or predictions, or anything that you have been wondering
In 2026, agents will do more of the “writing/running/maintaining” work, so QA’s value shifts from creating tests to deciding what to test, what “good” means, and how we know we’re still good after every change. (Gartner)
The MVP skills/roles I’m betting on:
Test strategists / quality coaches: risk-based coverage, quality gates, and aligning teams on outcomes (not test counts).
Automation engineers who can “anchor” agent-generated tests: stable selectors, reliable flows, guardrails (the ecosystem is already moving fast here, e.g., agentic UI testing tooling). (Thoughtworks)
AI eval / model-quality testers: benchmarks, golden datasets, drift monitoring, and failure analysis for AI features (this is becoming formalized as a discipline). (ISTQB)
Net: the winning QA folks will be the ones who can turn AI speed into trusted releases.
i see 2026 less as “AI agents replacing QA” and more as “AI agents changing what QA focuses on”
agents can generate and run tests fast but they still don’t understand product risk, user intent, or business context. believe me.
what will matter most is our ability to set the right quality goals, decide what’s worth automating and what’s not, and validate what agents produce
in other words, less script writing, more judgment and strategy
the last thing, AI speeds things up, humans still decide what good quality actually means
How do you think Software QA will change in 2026?