AI in QA for startup and SMB: What you need to know

Almost all startups and SMBs struggle to deliver high-quality software on time. Nothing groundbreaking here since even Palo Alto residents often look for cost-effective QA solutions and have limited budgets. If you ask us what the most influential contributor to delays is, we’ll say inefficient testing processes. 

Frankly, testing is the primary source of delivery delays, especially at the enterprise level. This stage consumes up to 35% of the overall IT budget and takes 23 days to complete on average.

And this is in the era of AI and total automation. GitLab, for example, found that 67% of US companies have their software development lifecycle at least partly automated. Aligns with the top priority for most companies — security. 

Below, we explore whether automated testing for small businesses is relevant (spoiler: it is) and how integrating Artificial Intelligence into quality assurance processes can help small companies break the mold of typical ineffective startups. 

If you are on the fence about AI, thinking it’s too expensive to play with, keep reading. You will be surprised at how it can save you money and time. 

Why startups and SMBs should care about AI in QA

Quality assurance is a core driver of user satisfaction, retention, and eventually, business growth. A post-release bug costs 100x more than one detected during development (controversial point. However, many refer to this idea). 

Anyway, many struggle to find relevant SMB software testing solutions due to resource limitations. While big tech giants have dedicated and various testing roles (the pic below shows only four of them), “usual” companies can’t boast about wide QA departments. 

The common truth is that the QA team (if there is any at all) is about half the amount of the development team. But the situation in startups and SMBs is way worse.   

Common QA pain points for startups and SMBs

• Limited resources: The average salary of a QA specialist in the US is USD 90K a year. For startups, hiring a dedicated QA team is costly. So, relying on developers for testing is nothing groundbreaking.
• High-quality software. Now: 83% of developers and tech specialists feel burnt. This is one of the highest scores in the labor market. In tech, you must deliver. Now and always. And cutting corners on QA is not an option.
• Scaling QA with development: With evolving product and testing requirements, projects need more suitable options for getting things done.

Speaking more technically, there are also architectural constraints:

• Microservices complexity
• Distributed system interactions
• Limited testing infrastructure
• Rapid technological evolution

AI-powered QA is the key

OwlityAI and other AI-driven QA solutions address these by:

• Automating repetitive test cases (e.g., regression, UI, and API tests), reducing manual effort
• Detecting issues earlier through predictive analytics
• Enhancing test coverage without requiring additional QA personnel.

Manual vs. AI-driven regression testing

How AI solves QA challenges for startups and SMBs

Efficient testing acceleration

The main point is that AI-powered QA tools save resources and streamline the software testing process despite requiring upfront investments.

Of course, if you plan a shell company, you don’t need to rack your brain over it. On the other hand, if you want to build a real-value organization, it makes sense to size up new tech advancements on how you can use them to improve the efficiency of your business.   

One of these advancements is automated testing for small businesses. AI reduces test case creation and execution time. Traditional regression testing requires testers to manually update scripts for every change, but AI-based tools dynamically adapt to changes in the codebase. 

Self-healing adds to it: It detects UI changes and adjusts test suites accordingly, so there is no longer a need for maintenance hustles.

Benefit: Faster feedback → quicker release

Modern testing tools provide precise app analysis and smart prioritization — all in real time. This way, development teams receive immediate insights into current defects. Moreover, next-gen testing tools have forecasting capabilities, so devs can even plan their fixes beforehand (or just code more accurately) — not a bad incentive for release time.

Example

The AI model scrutinizes all previous commits, and each code modification contributes to determining which test cases are the most relevant. When you don’t have enough resources (time, people, etc.), the most impactful tests get the highest priority and are executed first instead of running an entire suite. Eventually, you can reduce execution time by 50+%.

Precise cost optimization

Time is money — a popular saying. Yet, it becomes very tangible when it comes to AI in QA for startups. Modern testing tools automate repetitive tasks and reduce the need for a large QA workforce. This is the first side of the economic monad. The other side is that SMBs can streamline their testing processes without losing quality.

Benefit: Cost savings + quality

LLMs narrowed to software testing can reach 80% to 100% of coverage. Total automation allows for this while minimizing labor manual QA costs.

Example

Simple to-do apps with 4 builds per month need one to two QAs for faster releases. Considering the average tester’s salary in the US (USD 90,000 annually), you can save at least USD 7,000 in a month or USD 84,000 in a year. 

Let’s proceed to slightly bigger businesses. Traditional testing methods might cost a medium-sized company USD 10,000 per release cycle (manual tester salaries and overhead). On the other hand, AI-powered tools can reduce costs to around USD 2,000 per cycle. Get an 80+% reduction in testing expenses while maintaining rigid quality assurance standards.

Covering more possible user scenarios

AI tools analyze the way apps behave in real conditions (after every new release and under different amounts of traffic) and user interactions. Based on this info, the tools create specific test scenarios, from regular sign-ups to edge cases. This way, you can rest assured the most important areas are completely covered.

Benefit: Lower risk of undetected bugs 

The more potential cases you cover, the more confident you can be that your app won’t fall flat or go down due to overload or any other reason. Whatever your niche is, robust testing is a must — it is a cornerstone of user satisfaction, your brand reputation, and, eventually, your profit.

Example

Even if you have several QA specialists, this doesn’t guarantee a flawless app. AI-driven tools don’t guarantee as well. However, they can simulate complex user paths, monitoring multiple scenarios and edge cases that may not be feasible for manual testers to cover. 

E-commerce platforms utilize AI to cover various purchasing scenarios. Financial apps use AI to prevent fraud. Healthcare projects leverage artificial intelligence testing to safeguard sensitive data.

The key takeaway: AI usually understands many more possible scenarios than humans due to the much larger data base it was taught on. 

Scaling and downscaling  

Your app will become more complex over time, and AI-powered QA tools will scale alongside it. It is obvious that after first attempts with MVPs, startups will scale successful projects, and their testing requirements will expand.

Benefit: faster MVP - full-scale product transition

Modern AI solutions, whether tools for testing or another purpose, are usually more flexible than previous-generation programs. Their adaptability is much higher and can cover both growing demands and decreases in user interest. Of course, considering the quality requirements and your release schedule. 

Example

Simultaneous testing and cloud are the main enablers for startups. Picture average SaaS provider: It may start every week with a new feature and every month with an x2 to its user base. As AI executes tests across different operating systems and devices at the same moment, the SaaS company can effectively handle the testing load without spending more on hires, training, and other associated expenditure items.

Manageable QA for small teams

Low-code and no-code instruments are gaining ground across the world, making modern technologies accessible to non-tech users. Imagine you can just copy-paste your web app link to an AI testing tool, and it will handle the rest.

Benefit: Run QA without a tech background

With advanced technologies, you are no longer limited to tech-savvy architects, developers, and experienced Quality Engineers. All team members can contribute to the quality assurance process and make your app its best.

How do they do that?

• Visual test scenario builders
• Drag-and-drop interface
• Natural language test generation
• Intelligent auto-completion

Key considerations when adopting AI in QA for startups and SMBs

Spend wisely

Despite prior investments, next-gen technologies can really save you time, money, and grayless hair. In the long run, of course. Yet, startups and SMBs, as more resource-dependent companies, often consider only spending in the current moment/month/quarter. And just ignore long-term benefits as they think they must evaluate pricing models to ensure they align with budget constraints. 

But take a look: With traditional testing, you need full-time QA engineers (let's take a below-market salary of USD 85,000/year), their training, insurance, etc. At the same time, cost-effective QA solutions provide flexible pricing based on usage or subscriptions.

How-to for cost-effective AI testing

• Look for pay-as-you-go or tiered pricing that scales with your team’s needs.
• Assess ROI guarantees — some vendors provide clear savings breakdowns based on automation benefits.
• Calculate the breakeven point where automation reduces manual effort enough to justify costs.

Comparative example

Given: SaaS startup with 4 builds per month; they have two testers in the team earning USD 85,000 annually each. Manual regression testing takes 15 hours per build, totaling 60 hours/month. At an hourly QA rate of USD 44 (based on salary breakdown), this costs USD 2,640/month in a manual effort.

With OwlityAI’s Core plan (USD 436/month), automated testing reduces testing time by 92+%, cutting labor costs. Total monthly savings will be USD 6,647 and an annual cost reduction will be USD 79,764. Note, OwlityAI ensures more significant coverage, optimizes time and effort allocation, and accounts for every test with advanced reporting features.

Integrate with existing development workflows

If you want to get the most out of AI-powered QA, integrate it into your CI/CD pipeline. Startups following Agile and DevOps methodologies need tools that:

• Support major CI/CD platforms (Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.).
• Enable API-based integration.
• Provide version control-aware testing to run tests based on branch-specific changes.

What you may encounter and what you can do

Challenge: Need for dedicated infrastructure for execution.

Solution: Make sure your AI testing tool is cloud-based and doesn’t require extra servers.

Challenge: If you have legacy testing frameworks, you may face migration difficulties.

Solution: Choose tools with AI-assisted script conversion to auto-migrate old test cases.

Challenge: Resistance from team members or their skepticism about AI 

Solution: Thought leadership, quick wins/results, low-hanging fruits approach, vision.

Example: AI-driven QA in DevOps workflows

A fast-growing SaaS edtech project integrated a modern testing tool into their GitHub Actions CI/CD pipeline to run smart-prioritized tests after each pull request. Under typical conditions, this startup must have executed the full suite, but AI detected only impacted areas and applied smart prioritization, reducing test runtime by 60% this way.

Stay flexible and scalable

We already discussed growing complexity with startup growth; in this case, QA must adapt to increasing demands. A rigid AI testing tool can become a real pain in the neck. What to consider:

• Test case creation should be at least partly customizable to accompany product-specific workflows.
• Robust scalable capabilities to handle growing testing requirements or vice versa, downscaling when in need.

Scaling example

A SaaS startup expanded from a single-platform web app to a multi-device ecosystem. Instead of rewriting tests manually, they leveraged adaptive test scripts. The capabilities of the tool they chose:

• Auto-adjusting to UI variations across desktop and mobile.
• Running parallel tests on multiple devices.
• Expand API testing after every new integration.

This allowed the startup to scale from 50 to 500 test cases with minimal engineering effort.

Selecting AI QA vendors with strong support and onboarding

When you’re opting for AI-driven testing, you level up your game. But you also step into an absolutely new environment as AI testing introduces new workflows. Without prior automation experience, your team may face adoption difficulties. 

Ask the vendor for help:

• Dedicated onboarding programs with guided setup and best practices.
• Customer support via chat, email, or direct calls.
• Documentation and AI-assisted troubleshooting.

Faster adoption example 

A small fintech startup with no prior test automation experience onboarded the next-gen testing tool. Vendor provided ongoing support alongside the product so that the startup:

• Fully integrated AI testing within 3 weeks instead of the industry average of 2-3 months.
• Reduced test setup time by 60% through AI-driven test generation.
• Resolved integration issues quickly using 24/7 expert support.

Bottom line

Startups are often associated with inadequate outlays and tight belts. That’s why SMB software testing solutions are gaining ground. While AI consumes an unbelievable amount of energy and money now, it can possibly save millions of billions.

Especially when we are talking about the small and medium-sized business ecosystem of any country. AI in QA for startups particularly can save the time and effort required for creating high-quality software.

Opt for AI testing tools to broaden your coverage, decrease manual effort, and accelerate releases. If you hesitate about what tool is perfect in your case, check our complete AI testing guide or just book a demo to check OwlityAI’s capabilities.