AI‑First Career for Manual Testers
- AccleroTech
- Oct 5, 2025
- 5 min read
TL;DR
Manual testing roles down ~18% in 2025; forecast another 20–25% drop by 2026 end.
Power Platform roles up 40–50% YoY in 2025; Copilot Studio roles forecast 10× growth by 2026 end.
Manual Testers can navigate a career switch now: Build low-code + AI agent skills, earn Microsoft credentials, and take guidance from AccleroTech as well as join communities like PowerStackers for mentorship and job readiness!
To know more, email us here learning@acclerotech.com
Job Trends in 2025: Manual Testers vs Power Platform & Copilot Engineers
Manual Tester Roles (2025 Snapshot)
Global postings: Approx. 32,000 active listings for manual testers worldwide in 2025, down 18% YoY as automation and AI adoption accelerate.
India postings: Around 3,200 live jobs for manual testers in October 2025, concentrated in BFSI, healthcare, and ERP domains.
Trend: Decline driven by 44% of companies automating >50% of their testing and AI tools reducing repetitive manual work.
"Manual testing isn’t dying—it’s transforming. But pure manual execution roles are shrinking fast.” — Stefan Gogoll, QA Thought Leader.
Power Platform & Copilot Engineer Roles (2025 Snapshot)
Global postings: Over 120,000 active jobs for Power Platform professionals, with demand growing 3–6× faster than supply.
India postings: Estimated 12,000+ openings for Power Platform developers, consultants, and architects in 2025 across IT services and captive centers.
Copilot Studio roles: Emerging but visible—hundreds of listings for Copilot Studio Engineer and AI Solutions Developer roles in enterprise automation teams.
“Demand for Power Platform engineers is 3 to 6 times the supply, and growing 700% annually.” — Antal International & Powerzoom Career Note.
Market Trends: Why Manual‑Only Demand Is Declining While Power Platform & Copilot Engineering Is Increasing
Agentic AI reduces repetitive manual work. AI agents can execute UI tasks, summarize defects, and pre‑fill evidence—shrinking the need for large manual regression teams and moving testing effort to risk‑based design, automation, and governance.
Low‑code becomes mainstream in new development. Analyst forecasts indicate that by 2026, ~75% of new application development will be built on low‑code platforms, accelerating demand for Power Platform makers, consultants, and architects. IDC estimates low‑/no‑code & intelligent developer tech revenues to reach $21B by 2026 at ~17.8% CAGR.
Hyper automation spending rises. Gartner’s market maps and predictions show double‑digit CAGR through 2028 for process‑agnostic hyper automation software; enterprises broaden usage of RPA + AI + workflow orchestration—exactly the stack Power Automate + AI Builder + Copilot Studio delivers.
Workforce expectations shift to AI fluency. Microsoft’s Work Trend Index analyses report 68% of workers overwhelmed by pace/volume, 46% reporting burnout, and 82% of leaders planning AI agents—fueling investments in Copilot & agent platforms rather than expanding manual execution teams.
What 2026 Looks Like: Forecasts & Numbers
Manual Tester Roles (2026 Outlook)
Forecast: Global manual tester postings expected to drop another 20–25%, settling near 24,000 listings worldwide.
India: Likely to fall below 2,500 active postings, mostly hybrid QA roles requiring automation + platform skills.
Reason: AI-driven test automation platforms and CI/CD integration will make repetitive manual execution obsolete.
Power Platform & Copilot Engineer Roles (2026 Outlook)
Forecast:
Power Platform jobs: Expected to grow 40–50% YoY, crossing 170,000+ global postings by end of 2026.
Copilot Studio roles: Projected 10× growth as multi-agent orchestration and enterprise copilots become standard—thousands of dedicated roles globally.
Driver: Gartner predicts 75% of new app development will be low-code by 2026, and IDC forecasts LCNC market revenue hitting $21B by 2026.
“By 2026, 80% of low-code tool users will be outside IT departments, creating massive demand for skilled Power Platform engineers.” — Gartner.
India Salary & Demand Signals
Power Apps Developer (India): median offers commonly reported around ₹9–12 LPA, with city and client variations.
Power Platform skill tags across verified profiles: averages around ₹20–24 LPA (role mix varies—developer, consultant, architect).
Systems integrators and captives: frequent openings for Power Apps/Automate/Copilot with ₹4–13 LPA ranges for entry–mid roles; senior consultant/architect roles attract higher packages.
Why This Matters to Manual Testers wanting to make a career?
Manual testers face shrinking demand for execution-only roles.
Power Platform + Copilot Studio engineers will be core to enterprise AI-first automation strategies.
The skills gap means career switchers can command premium salaries and future-proof roles.
In short, it is imperative to consider an AI-First Career of Manual Testers!
Why is a Manual Tester suited to switch to Power Platform/Copilot Engineer?
Your experience is valuable—test design, exploratory instincts, defect triage and risk sense are critical—but the role is changing. To protect your trajectory (and raise your ceiling), bolt on automation + low-code + Copilot.
Here are 3 examples as to how a manual tester (armed with Power Platform and Copilot learning) is useful to the Hiring Manager
“Defect Intake Copilot”
Problem: Noisy defect reports, slow triage.
Solution: Engineers with manual testing background are most suited to build a Copilot Studio bot grounded on project QA wiki + Azure DevOps; routes issues and kicks off Power Automate flows.
Example Outcome: Median triage time ↓ 35%; duplicate defects ↓ 20%.
“Test Data Factory”
Problem: Test runs blocked by seed-data delays.
Solution: Manual testers who have experience in collating seed data can build Canvas app + Dataverse schema + desktop flows to generate data packages; one-click reset.
Example Outcome: Setup time ↓ from 45m to 5m; reruns ↑ per day.
“Release Readiness Dashboard”
Problem: Fragmented QA signals.
Solution: Manual testers with Power Platform skills can create Power BI + Dataverse ingest of pipeline/test telemetry; risk score surfaced in Teams; DLP-compliant connectors.
Example Outcome: Missed regressions ↓; stakeholder sign-off time ↓.
AccleroTech suggests a focused 12-week plan to embark on the AI-First Career of Manual Testers
Week | Objective | Topics | Hands-on Labs |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Understand Power Platform fundamentals | Overview of Power Apps, Power Automate, Dataverse, AI Builder, Copilot Studio | Explore Power Platform components |
2 | Learn Dataverse basics | Tables, columns, relationships, security roles | Create a Dataverse table and apply security |
3 | Build your first Canvas app | Canvas app design, Power Fx basics | Create a Canvas app connected to Dataverse |
4 | Explore Model-driven apps | Model-driven app architecture, forms, views | Build a Model-driven app with Dataverse |
5 | Automate workflows with Power Automate | Cloud flows, triggers, actions | Create an approval flow integrated with Teams |
6 | Learn Power Automate Desktop (RPA) | Desktop flows, UI automation | Automate a legacy app using PAD |
7 | Integrate AI Builder | AI models for document processing | Build an invoice processing flow using AI Builder |
8 | Create Copilot Studio agents | Topics, entities, actions, publishing | Build a Copilot agent and connect to Teams |
9 | Apply governance & security | DLP policies, environment strategy | Configure DLP and environment settings |
10 | Learn ALM & solution management | Solutions, pipelines, Power Platform CLI | Export/import solutions and set up pipelines |
11 | Build dashboards with Power BI | Connect Power BI to Dataverse | Create a QA dashboard for test metrics |
12 | Validate skills & publish portfolio | Review Applied Skills credentials | Complete Applied Skills labs for Canvas App & Copilot Studio |
How AccleroTech helps?
AccleroTech is uniquely positioned to be a guide for AI-First Career of Manual Testers, because of its deep ecosystem partnerships and community leadership:
Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Status: AccleroTech is a recognized Microsoft AI Cloud Partner, giving us direct access to the latest AI-first technologies, best practices, and enterprise-grade solutions.
Early Access Program Participant: We are part of Microsoft’s exclusive early access programs for Copilot Studio and Power Platform innovations—so our learners experience cutting-edge features before they hit general availability.
Startup Founders Hub Selection: AccleroTech is chosen for Microsoft’s Startup Founders Hub, enabling us to leverage advanced resources, credits, and technical mentorship to build world-class learning experiences.
Conveners of PowerStackers Community: We lead PowerStackers, a Microsoft Power Platform user group dedicated to helping professionals become full-stack Power Platform engineers. This community offers hackathons, mentorship, and job-readiness sprints.
Commitment to Remote AI-First Careers: Our mission is to empower remote-first Power Platform engineers through specialized training tracks, portfolio-building projects, and Microsoft Applied Skills credentials—all aligned with real-world job descriptions.
Your Next Step
Ready to accelerate your career switch from Manual Testing to Power Platform & Copilot Engineering?
Email us at: learning@acclerotech.comSubject: Career Switch – Manual Tester
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