Compare Scripted UI frameworks
AskUI vs Playwright, Selenium and Cypress
Browser automation frameworks for web apps. AskUI uses Playwright under the hood for the browser, and adds plain-language tests and everything outside it.
Playwright, Selenium and Cypress · open source
What it is.
Playwright, Selenium and Cypress are open-source frameworks that automate web browsers through the page's DOM. Engineers write tests in code. They are the standard choice for web applications.
Where Playwright, Selenium and Cypress is strong
- Free, open source and very widely used.
- Fast and precise on web applications with a stable DOM.
- Large communities and tooling for developers.
Side by side
How they work.
Architecture, not adjectives.
| Question | Playwright, Selenium and Cypressopen source | AskUIComputer-use agent |
|---|---|---|
| How a test finds the UI | Selectors on the page's DOM. | In the browser, the agent works through the Playwright MCP server, so web steps act on the real page. Outside the browser, it works from the screen. |
| How tests are written | Code, for example TypeScript, JavaScript, Python or Java. | Plain language. Your manual test cases, often written from requirements. |
| Surfaces | Web browsers. | Desktop and remote computers, web browsers, Android emulators and phones, iOS simulators, several computers in one test, and embedded screens with no DOM. |
| Access needed to the app | The page's DOM. | In the browser, the page through Playwright. Everywhere else none: AgentOS gives the agent screen, keyboard and mouse. |
| When the screen is not as expected | Runs code exactly as written. Predictable, and stops at an unexpected dialog. | The agent decides each next action from the screen. It closes unexpected pop-ups and corrects its own misclicks. Two attempts per step; In-Flight Guidance stops runs that loop; Dreaming proposes fixes for review. |
| End to end across systems | Several browsers and pages in one test. Leaving the browser needs other tools. | One test can drive several computers and check APIs and databases in between, with one report. Combining desktop, Android and web in one run is on the roadmap: profiles connect today. |
| Integrations beyond the UI | Anything a library can reach, written in code. | Tool Store: SQL over ODBC, HTTP, shell and file checks, off until enabled. Custom C# tools and MCP servers, for example Vector CANoe or dSPACE, called from plain-language steps. |
| Where it runs | Anywhere, including your own CI and network. | Your machines and your CI. On-premise and air-gapped, with your own model. |
| Test format | Code in your repository. | Markdown, CSV or JSON files in your own Git repository. |
| Evidence per run | Pass or fail per test, with traces and screenshots when configured. | A verdict, the expected and actual result and a screenshot for every step, plus the agent's reasoning. |
Based on public information from the vendor's website and docs.askui.com, checked August 2026. Products change; check the current documentation. Playwright, Selenium and Cypress is a trademark of its owner.
Which one fits
Both are good at something.
Choose Playwright, Selenium and Cypress when
You test a web application with a stable DOM, and developers write and maintain the tests.
Choose AskUI when
A flow leaves the browser: an OS dialog, a file picker, a native app or an HMI. Or testers who do not code write the tests.
AskUI uses Playwright under the hood: for web steps, the agent works through the Playwright MCP server. Teams keep Playwright code for web-only checks, and use AskUI for plain-language tests and flows that leave the browser.
Questions
- Does AskUI use Playwright?
- Yes. For web browser targets, the AskUI agent uses the Playwright MCP server under the hood. You write the test in plain language; you do not write or maintain Playwright code.
- Should we replace Playwright with AskUI?
- Not for a pure web app with a stable DOM. Playwright is a fine choice there. AskUI helps where the same suite must also reach desktop apps, native dialogs or HMIs.
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