Compare Desktop and enterprise GUI tools
AskUI vs UFT One
Object repositories and VBScript across desktop, web and mainframe, compared with AskUI's plain-language tests.
UFT One · by OpenText
What it is.
UFT One, formerly by Micro Focus, is OpenText's functional test tool. It uses object repositories and VBScript, with AI-based object recognition. It covers desktop, web, mobile, packaged applications and mainframe terminals.
Where UFT One is strong
- Very broad technology reach, including mainframe and terminal emulators.
- Long-standing use in banks and insurers.
- Integrates with OpenText's test management tools.
Side by side
How they work.
Architecture, not adjectives.
| Question | UFT Oneby OpenText | AskUIComputer-use agent |
|---|---|---|
| How a test finds the UI | Object repositories, with AI-based object recognition. | An agent reads the screen like a tester does. No selectors, no object repository, no recordings. |
| How tests are written | Keyword view or VBScript. | Plain language. Your manual test cases, often written from requirements. |
| Surfaces | Desktop, web, mobile, packaged applications and mainframe terminals. | 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 | Reads objects through technology add-ins. | None. No source code, instrumentation or accessibility tree. AgentOS gives the agent screen, keyboard and mouse. |
| When the screen is not as expected | Runs keyword or VBScript steps as written. AI-based recognition helps find objects. | 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 | Flows across desktop, web, packaged applications and mainframe terminals in one test. | 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 | VBScript, add-ins, and API testing in the same product. | 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 | UFT One runs on Windows. | Your machines and your CI. On-premise and air-gapped, with your own model. |
| Test format | UFT tests and object repositories. | Markdown, CSV or JSON files in your own Git repository. |
Based on public information from the vendor's website and docs.askui.com, checked August 2026. Products change; check the current documentation. UFT One is a trademark of its owner.
Which one fits
Both are good at something.
Choose UFT One when
Your estate depends on mainframe terminals and packaged applications that UFT One add-ins already cover.
Choose AskUI when
You want plain-language tests without object repositories, on screens that include HMIs or other surfaces without accessible objects.
Questions
- Can AskUI test mainframe applications?
- AskUI can work with a terminal emulator from the screen, but UFT One has dedicated terminal support. For mainframe-heavy estates, UFT One is often the better fit.
- Do testers need to write code in AskUI?
- No. Tests are plain-language steps in Markdown or CSV.
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