Customer Success Manager

SmartBear has released a survey of 273 software executives and professionals revealing that 70% are concerned application quality is suffering as AI accelerates code development. The study found 60% experienced quality issues in the past year as development outpaced testing. The survey showed AI code generation has reached critical mass, with 93% of respondents having adopted AI coding tools. Forty percent use AI to generate more than 40% of their code, a figure expected to reach 60% within 12 months. Despite 87% having partially or fully automated more than 20% of testing, 92% still rely on manual testing. Nearly 68% worry that faster AI development will create testing bottlenecks, whilst 65% are concerned about under-investment in application-level testing. SmartBear has launched BearQ, an autonomous testing system, to address these quality gaps.

SmartBear survey: 70% of software experts concerned that application Quality is suffering given faster AI code development. 60% have already experienced quality issues in the past year as development outpaced testing SOMERVILLE, Mass. - March 18, 2026 - SmartBear, helping teams build, test, and ship quality software at AI speed and scale, today released a survey that finds 70% of software experts say application quality has already degraded as AI accelerates development, and 60% already experienced quality issues in the past year as application development outpaced testing. The survey of 273 CTOs, CIOs, software developers, quality assurance directors, and others - almost three quarters at director level or above - at mostly midsize to enterprise software and SaaS companies also found that: * AI code generation has hit critical mass. 93% have adopted AI coding tools. Forty percent use it to generate more than 40% of code. In 12 months, 60% of survey respondents expect it to generate more than 40% of code. Almost 7 of 10 respondents worked at companies with more than $50 million in revenue. * Quality is suffering and anxiety is rising. 70% of survey respondents are concerned that application quality is already suffering; 67% worry about quality decline in next 12 months as AI produces applications faster; 60% experienced quality issues in the past year as development outpaced testing. * Bottlenecks expected as manual testing remains common. Almost 7 of 10 (68%) are worried that faster AI development will create testing bottlenecks. Almost 60% of teams do more than 40% of their application testing manually. Almost 9 of 10 (87%) have partially or fully automated more than 20% of application testing, yet 92% still test manually. * Leadership doesn't fully grasp the risk. 65% of survey respondents are concerned about under-investment in application-level testing vs. code-based testing. Also, nearly two-thirds (65%) worry that decision-makers don't recognize the risks of faster AI development without equivalent improvements in testing. "These results underscore growing concern that the speed of software development, driven by AI, is outpacing the ability of teams to test the resulting applications and ensure they work as they're supposed to," says Dan Faulkner, CEO of SmartBear. "It only takes one failure that can tank a customer experience and destroy brand good will. The good news is that a new solution, in the form of autonomous testing by a team of agents, has arrived to augment manual or inadequate testing automation, setting a new standard for application integrity. Now companies need to get on board and invest in closing these gaps to ensure that applications avoid failure, delays, and continuously deliver the outcome that businesses and consumers expect." SmartBear today launched BearQ(TM), the agentic QA system with always-on teammates that autonomously explore and test applications, delivering continuous application integrity so software works as intended with governance to operate at AI speed and scale. BearQ's capabilities enable autonomous, adaptive, software application testing that also discovers and prioritizes testing to the most important workflows. More than nine of 10 (92%) of survey respondents see autonomous testing as a quality improvement and almost all are increasing testing investment this year. Almost nine in 10, 86%, are increasing testing investments by more than 11% this year. To see more results from the SmartBear Study: Closing the AI Software Quality Gap, go HERE. To see more information on BearQ and application integrity, go HERE.

SmartBear and Carahsoft expand partnership to enhance the quality of software development in the Public Sector. Expanded Agreement Enhances Public Sector Access to SmartBear's AI-Powered Software Quality Solutions, Helping Government Agencies Modernize Software Faster and More Securely SOMERVILLE, Mass., and RESTON, Va. - February 11, 2026 - SmartBear, a leading provider of software quality and visibility solutions, and Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider(R), today announced an expanded partnership that makes it easier for Federal, State and Local agencies to deliver quality, compliant software. Carahsoft is a long-established Government IT distributor, connecting Government and Public Sector agencies with the technologies they need through its extensive reseller network and contract vehicles. Carahsoft will serve as SmartBear's Master Government Aggregator(R), simplifying how agencies procure and deploy SmartBear's trusted solutions for API development, automated testing and application monitoring, through its reseller partners and NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V, Information Technology Enterprise Solutions - Software 2 (ITES-SW2) and National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint contracts. "Public Sector teams rely on SmartBear's secure, on-premise solutions such as ReadyAPI and TestComplete to ensure mission-critical applications perform flawlessly," said Joe Tong, SVP of Global Channel Partnerships at SmartBear. "Expanding our partnership with Carahsoft gives agencies faster, more direct access to our full portfolio of AI-powered tools through its trusted procurement channels." Through this expanded partnership, Public Sector organizations can access SmartBear's complete product suite, including Swagger, Reflect and BugSnag, through Carahsoft's reseller network and the AWS Marketplace. Zephyr, the best-selling solution for test management and automation for Jira, continues to be available through Carahsoft in the Atlassian Marketplace. "SmartBear is helping our Government customers pioneer innovation in software quality and embrace the transformative potential of AI," said Natalie Gregory, Vice President for DevSecOps Solutions at Carahsoft. "Carahsoft and our reseller partners look forward to working with SmartBear to help Public Sector teams improve the building, testing, release and monitoring of applications." SmartBear's solutions are now available through Carahsoft's SEWP V contracts NNG15SC03B and NNG15SC27B, ITES-SW2 Contract W52P1J-20-D-0042 and NASPO ValuePoint Master Agreement #AR2472.