Where 41,000+ Automation Engineers Build, Script, and Ship in the AI Era

TestGuild is the longest-running independent media platform and practitioner community for software test automation. Founded by Joe Colantonio in 2010, TestGuild serves 41,000+ QA engineers, automation architects, and testing leads through the TestGuild Automation Podcast (589+ episodes), the annual Automation Guild conference, training courses, and unbiased tool coverage. TestGuild is vendor-neutral and editorially independent.

Joe Colantonio is the founder of TestGuild and host of the TestGuild Automation Podcast, the longest-running podcast dedicated entirely to test automation with 589+ episodes. He has 25+ years of hands-on software testing experience, including a decade as a Test Automation Architect at a Fortune 100 company. He created Automation Guild in 2017, now in its 10th year as the premier online conference for automation engineers. Joe started TestGuild in 2010 with one goal: give practitioners honest, vendor-neutral testing content. He’s based in Tennessee and yes, he went to Berklee College of Music before pivoting to breaking software on purpose.

The TestGuild Automation Podcast covers test automation frameworks (Selenium, Playwright, Cypress, Appium), AI-augmented testing, API testing, mobile testing, CI/CD integration, performance testing, and security testing. Each episode features working engineers, framework creators, and practitioners sharing what actually works in real-world environments — not vendor pitches. Running since 2014 with 589+ episodes, it’s the longest-running podcast dedicated entirely to test automation.

Automation Guild is the annual online conference for test automation engineers, founded by Joe Colantonio in 2017 — years before COVID made online conferences mainstream. It was one of the first online events dedicated 100% to test automation, and it’s now in its 10th year. Unlike vendor-driven conferences, every session is chosen for practical value real engineers sharing what works in real CI/CD environments. Attendees get live sessions, hands-on workshops, and on-demand recordings to revisit after the event. It’s become the benchmark online event for automation practitioners who want signal, not sales pitches.

Yes. TestGuild offers multiple ways to learn depending on how deep you want to go. Free live webinars cover the latest tools, techniques, and expert Q&A — sponsored sessions are always clearly labeled so you can decide for yourself. For deeper skill building, TestGuild training courses cover AI-augmented testing, Selenium, Playwright, API testing, and performance engineering — built by practitioners, for practitioners, focused on techniques that work in real CI/CD environments, not toy examples. See upcoming webinars → · Browse courses →

AI testing means two different things and most people confuse them. The first is testing AI-powered applications: validating models, checking for bias, and ensuring AI behaves reliably in production. The second is using AI to enhance the testing process itself , think intelligent test generation, self-healing locators, autonomous test execution, and smarter defect prediction. Both matter, and both are changing what it means to be a QA engineer. TestGuild has been tracking this longer than most — we ran our first AI Testing Summit in 2018, years before LLMs made AI a mainstream conversation. Our annual survey data shows adoption jumping from under 2% to over 72% in just a few years. The hype is real. So is the practical value, if you know where to look.

Honest answer, the tool matters less than most people think when you’re starting out. Pick a language you’re already comfortable with (Python and JavaScript are both solid choices), choose a framework with strong community support like Playwright or Cypress, and focus on writing tests that actually run green in CI before worrying about anything else. The TestGuild Automation Podcast has a dedicated beginner episode library covering exactly this — 589+ episodes means there’s a starting point for wherever you are right now. Browse beginner episodes → · Explore training courses → · Join 41,000+ practitioners in the TestGuild community →

Selenium is the granddaddy of browser automation, it’s been around since 2004, supports every major language, and runs everywhere. That maturity is also its baggage: it’s verbose, setup-heavy, and doesn’t handle modern web apps as gracefully as newer frameworks. Playwright has become the framework most serious automation engineers are moving toward in 2026 fast, reliable, multi-browser, and built for modern architectures. Cypress is excellent for frontend developers who want fast feedback loops but has real limitations for complex enterprise testing scenarios. If you’re starting fresh today, Playwright is the honest recommendation for most teams. That said, TestGuild has 589+ episodes covering all three in depth — including my interviews with Simon Stewart, who created WebDriver and led the merger that became modern Selenium, Jason Huggins who created the original Selenium project in 2004, Brian Mann co-founder of Cypress, Dan Cuellar creator of Appium, and Arjun Attam the original Playwright PM — so you can hear directly from the people who built them. Browse framework episodes →

TestGuild runs three types of events for automation practitioners. Automation Guild is the annual online conference — 10 years running, live sessions plus on-demand recordings so you don’t have to choose between attending and your day job. TestGuild IRL is the in-person tour hitting 11 cities — smaller, practitioner-only gatherings where the real conversations happen away from the vendor booths. Free webinars run throughout the year covering the latest tools and techniques, with sponsored sessions always clearly labeled. See what’s coming up →

Almost everything on TestGuild is free — podcast episodes, blog posts, tool reviews, webinar recordings, and the newsletter. The one exception is Automation Guild, the annual online conference, which requires a paid pass for full access to live sessions, workshops, and on-demand recordings. If you’re not sure it’s worth it, the free content will give you a pretty good idea of what you’re getting before you commit. Browse free content →

TestGuild works with test tool vendors, software companies, and technology brands who want to reach a highly engaged audience of QA engineers, automation architects, and testing leads. TestGuild has run annual audience surveys for 7+ years full sponsorship data and audience demographics are available in the media kit. Sponsorship opportunities include podcast episodes, webinars, the Automation Guild conference, TestGuild IRL in-person events, and newsletter placements. Sponsored content is always clearly labeled so the audience knows, that transparency is actually why sponsors keep coming back. View the TestGuild Media Kit →

TestGuild receives a lot of guest pitches. The ones that make it through have one thing in common — a clear, practitioner-focused topic that serves the audience, not a product launch dressed up as education.

If you’re a working engineer, framework contributor, or testing practitioner with real-world experience to share — Submit a Speaker Request →

If you represent a vendor or tool company and want to reach the TestGuild audience — View the Media Kit →