Lesson 1.3 - The Biggest Mistakes Testers Make When Using AI
Learning objective
Avoid common pitfalls that reduce quality instead of improving it.
Chapter 3 / Objective 3
Many testers try AI once and say:
"This isn't useful."
Usually, one of these mistakes is happening:
Mistake 1: Blind trust
Copy-pasting AI-generated tests or code without understanding it.
Risk:
- False positives
- Flaky tests
- Missed edge cases
Mistake 2: Poor input
Giving AI vague or incomplete prompts.
Example:
"Generate test cases for login."
Better:
"Generate negative and boundary test scenarios for a login form with email + password, rate limiting, and MFA."
Mistake 3: Using AI too late
Only using AI during execution, not planning.
AI delivers the most value early-during refinement and test design.
Mistake 4: Treating AI as automation
AI does not replace test automation frameworks or strategies.
Key takeaway
The quality of AI output depends directly on your thinking.