Introduction:
Automation testing promises speed and reliability, but writing and maintaining scripts manually is time-consuming. Engineers often spend hours creating XPath selectors, building Page Object classes, and fixing flaky waits.
Antigravity, an AI-powered coding assistant built on Google DeepMind’s agentic technology, aims to simplify this process. We tested it in a real Selenium + Cucumber project on a complex enterprise application, and the results were impressive.
Task-by-Task Comparison:
1) Experience in creating a Page Object Class
Scenario: Create a Page Object class covering login flow, module navigation, context menu interaction, and form-based record creation.
Scaffold class: ~15 min vs ~2 min
XPath research: ~25 min vs ~5 min
WebDriverWait setup: ~10 min vs Instant
Total: ~50 min vs ~7 min
Manual Challenge:
Finding correct XPaths required inspecting the DOM, testing multiple selectors in DevTools, and refining them repeatedly.
// Manually hunted — took ~8 minutes to isolate
By.xpath(“.//button[@class=’MuiButtonBase-root MuiIconButton-root MuiIconButton-sizeSmall css-1phdkqw’]”)
With Antigravity:
Describing the element in simple English (e.g., “three-dot icon button inside a tree row”) generated a working selector instantly. It also automatically wrapped it with the correct WebDriverWait condition, reducing flakiness.
2) Experience in writing Cucumber Step Definitions
Scenario: Bind @Given, @When, @Then steps to Page Object methods.
Regex pattern writing: ~10 min vs ~1 min
Wiring method calls: ~15 min vs ~3 min
Error handling & logging: ~15 min vs Instant
Total: ~40 min vs ~4 min
Manual Challenge:
Writing consistent try/catch blocks and meaningful logs is repetitive. Often, engineers skip detailed logging, which leads to unclear CI failures.
// Auto-generated — structured, readable, consistent
@Given(“^I navigate to the inventory page$”)
public void i_navigate_to_inventory_page() {
try {
System.out.println(“Navigating to inventory page”);
inventoryPage.navigateToModule();
System.out.println(“Successfully navigated to inventory page”);
} catch (Exception e) {
System.err.println(“Error navigating to inventory page: ” + e.getMessage());
throw e;
}
}
With Antigravity:
Each step was generated with proper structure, logging, naming conventions, and error handling – automatically and consistently.
Cumulative Time Savings – For a single feature file, nearly 2.5 hours were saved.
Beyond speed, code quality improved through:
- Consistent naming
- Structured logging
- Proper wait strategies
- Reduced flaky tests
These improvements compound over the project’s lifetime.
Transparency – Antigravity is powerful, but not magic.
- Clear UI descriptions produce better results.
- Generated code must still be reviewed.
- Selenium knowledge enhances the tool’s effectiveness.
- It amplifies expertise, but it does not replace it.
Improved Code Standardization:
Generated code followed:
- Uniform naming conventions
- Clean Page Object structure
- Predictable logging format
This reduces:
- Code review cycles
- Refactoring effort
- Maintenance complexity
Reduced Debugging Overhead:
Because logging was automatically structured:
- CI failures became self-explanatory
- Stack traces were clearer
- Root causes were easier to identify
Less time in debugging → More time in test coverage expansion.
Real Value: Cognitive Load Reduction
The biggest impact wasn’t just speed. It was mental bandwidth.
Engineers no longer had to:
- Think about regex patterns
- Rewrite repetitive try/catch blocks
- Re-implement waits
- Re-check naming patterns
Instead, they focused on:
- Business logic validation
- Edge case scenarios
- Test design quality
- Risk coverage
Antigravity shifts effort from boilerplate generation to test intelligence.
Derivations:
- 88% faster test authoring.
- Antigravity is not just a convenience tool; it is a force multiplier for automation
- More consistent code quality.
- Fewer debugging sessions.
engineers. Tasks that once took hours now take minutes.
For teams using Selenium and Cucumber on modern React applications, it helps automation keep pace with development instead of falling behind the sprint.
