- Getting started
- Project management
- Documents
- Working with Change Impact Analysis
- Create test cases
- Assigning test cases to requirements
- Cloning test cases
- Exporting test cases
- Linking test cases in Studio to Test Manager
- Delete test cases
- Manual test cases
- Document test cases with Task Capture
- Parameters
- Enabling governance at project level
- Disabling governance at project level
- Enabling governance at test-case level
- Disabling governance at test-case level
- Managing approvers for governed test cases
- Managing governed test cases in the In Work state
- Managing governeed test cases in the In Review state
- Managing governed objects in the Signed state
- Managing comments for governed test cases
- Applying filters and views
- Importing Orchestrator test sets
- Creating test sets
- Adding test cases to a test set
- Assigning default users in test set execution
- Enabling activity coverage
- Enabling Healing Agent
- Configuring test sets for specific execution folders and robots
- Overriding parameters
- Cloning test sets
- Exporting test sets
- Applying filters and views
- Accessibility testing for Test Cloud
- Running Autonomous Exploration
- Reviewing Autonomous Exploration results
- Project operations and utilities
- Test Manager settings
- ALM tool integration
- API integration
- Coding Agents for Testing
- Troubleshooting
Start an Autonomous Exploration run in Test Manager against a requirement, with a time-boxed session, an AI model, an execution target, and optional live streaming.
This task starts Autopilot exploring an application against a requirement, without a pre-defined test script.
Prerequisites
- A connected runtime of one of the supported types (Testing, App Testing, Production (Unattended), Cloud – VM Testing, or Cloud – VM). Serverless runtime types are not supported.
- The Execute Automated Tests permission in Test Manager, required to trigger an exploration.
- A Windows environment — Autonomous Exploration is not supported on other operating systems.
Steps
- Log in to Test Manager.
- Open a requirement.
- Select + Autonomous Exploration. The panel opens on the Instructions tab.
- Attach requirement documents or additional context, if needed.
- Enter the target application URL for the web application to explore. The run uses the default browser configured on the machine (Chromium-based browsers and Firefox are supported). Browser selection is not configurable.
- Optional: Provide a custom prompt from the Prompt Library, used as User Instructions.
- Set a time-box.
- Select an artificial intelligence (AI) model.
- Optional: Enable live streaming.
- Optional: Select the Configure tab and, under Runtime type, select one of Testing, App Testing, Production (Unattended), Cloud – VM Testing, or Cloud – VM. The two serverless runtime types are not available for Autonomous Exploration. A runtime type with no connected runtime appears disabled. A runtime is pre-selected automatically when one is available, and can be overridden.
- Under Robot account, select a robot account. The default value is Any User/Robot account.
- Under Machine template, select Any machine template or a specific machine template. Selecting a specific machine template makes the Host machine field available.
- Under Host machine, select Any connected machine or a specific machine.
- Select Start to begin the exploration.
- Once the status changes to Completed, select Show report to view the full results.
Start stays disabled if the selected runtime type and machine template don't match, or if no connected runtime exists for the selected runtime type. The execution folder is still resolved automatically to the project's default folder — there's no folder picker on the Configure tab. Configure tab selections aren't persisted between sessions; reopening the panel resets them to the defaults above.
Result
Autopilot begins exploring the target application. Findings populate as scenarios complete, and the run can be paused, guided, skipped, resumed, or stopped, as described in Human-in-the-Loop for Autonomous Exploration. After the live phase ends, the report becomes available for review.
Recommended prompt structure
A well-structured prompt for Autonomous Exploration typically includes:
- Mission
- Scope
- Focus areas
- Test ideas
- Risks and questions
- Timebox
Consider referencing classic exploratory-testing tour styles, such as the Landmark Tour, Saboteur Tour, Couch Potato Tour, or Money Tour.