---
title: AI selectors
description: >-
  Learn how AI selectors find elements by intention instead of XPath, and
  configure enable levels and strategies like Smart, Always, or On demand.
sidebarTitle: AI selectors
lastUpdated: "2026-09-23"
---

> **For AI agents:** the complete documentation index is at [llms.txt](/llms.txt). Append `.md` to any page URL for its markdown version.

Selectors are the most fragile part of a UI test: a renamed class or a restructured DOM breaks an XPath that worked yesterday. With AI selectors, a step finds its target from the human-readable intention (like a button's label) instead of a hand-written path: on the first run, the AI parses the page, finds the right element, and saves the selector for the next runs.

![The AI section of Test settings with the Enable AI toggle and the strategy dropdown open](/images/ai-strategy-settings.webp)

## Enable AI

Three levels, from broadest to narrowest:

- **At creation**: check **AI usage** in the test creation form to start with AI on ([Creating a test](/tests/create)).
- **Per test**: toggle **Enable AI** in **Test settings > AI**. Turning AI off means maintaining the XPath on each step yourself.
- **Per step**: toggle **Turn on AI for this step** in the step's General tab. The selector field gets a gradient border to show AI is active. **Link to test** ties the step back to the test-level setting instead of a per-step override.

## AI strategies

The strategy controls when the AI engages:

- **Smart**: use the AI to find the first selector, or when the run fails with the saved one.
- **Always**: force the AI to redetect the target elements on every run, ignoring saved selectors.
- **On demand**: AI stays off by default; enable it manually on each step that needs it.

**Smart** is the usual default: fast runs with cached selectors, AI as the safety net. Use **Always** on pages whose structure changes constantly, and **On demand** when you want AI only on a handful of known-fragile steps.

## What's next?

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Verify with AI" icon="badge-check" href="/ai/verify-with-ai">

    Natural-language assertions on what the page shows

</Card>
  <Card title="Test builder" icon="vial" href="/tests/builder">

    Where the AI toggles live in the authoring flow

</Card>
</Columns>