Engineering leadership and executives are out of touch when it comes to software testing and how AI can be applied to the process, according to Sauce Labs’ 2025 Software Testing Vibe Check: Agentic Edition report. 61% of survey respondents—who consisted of 400 testing executives and engineering leaders surveyed in June 2024—said that their top leadership “lacks a full understanding of software testing requirements.” 65% of engineering leaders agreed with this statement, compared to just 57% of executives. However, Sauce Labs cautioned that their optimism may not match reality, since most current AI agents fall short of their promises. It doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon,” Sauce Labs wrote in the report. The overwhelming preference for hybrid approaches (85% favor mixing human and AI testing) suggests that the future isn’t about replacing human expertise—it’s about augmenting it thoughtfully,” Sauce Labs concluded.