AI Assistant in Chrome Devtools: Guide for Testers

Modern web browsers have evolved tremendously, offering powerful tools that assist developers and testers in debugging and optimizing applications. Among these, Google Chrome DevTools stands out as an essential toolkit for inspecting websites, monitoring network activity, and refining the user experience. With continuous improvements in browser technology, Chrome DevTools now includes AI Assistant, an intelligent feature that enhances the debugging process by providing AI-powered insights and solutions. This addition makes it easier for testers to diagnose issues, optimize web applications, and ensure a seamless user experience.

In this guide, we will explore how AI Assistant can be used in Chrome DevTools, particularly in the Network and Elements tabs, to assist in API testing, UI validation, accessibility checks, and performance improvements.

Uses of the AI Assistant Tool in Chrome DevTools

Chrome DevTools offers a wide range of tools for inspecting elements, monitoring network activity, analyzing performance, and ensuring security compliance. Among these, the AI Ask Assistant stands out by providing instant, AI-driven insights that simplify complex debugging tasks.

1. Debugging API and Network Issues

Problem: API requests fail, take too long to respond, or return unexpected data.

How AI Helps:

• Identifies HTTP errors (404 Not Found, 500 Internal Server Error, 403 Forbidden).
• Detects CORS policy violations, incorrect API endpoints, or missing authentication tokens.
• Suggests ways to optimize API performance by reducing payload size or caching responses.
• Highlights security concerns in API requests (e.g., unsecured tokens, mixed content issues).
• Compares actual API responses with expected values to validate data correctness.

2. UI Debugging and Fixing Layout Issues

Problem: UI elements are misaligned, invisible, or overlapping.

How AI Helps:

• Identifies hidden elements caused by display: none or visibility: hidden.
• Analyzes CSS conflicts that lead to layout shifts, broken buttons, or unclickable elements.
• Suggests fixes for responsiveness issues affecting mobile and tablet views.
• Diagnoses z-index problems where elements are layered incorrectly.
• Checks for flexbox/grid misalignments causing inconsistent UI behavior.

3. Performance Optimization

Problem: The webpage loads too slowly, affecting user experience and SEO ranking.

How AI Helps:

• Identifies slow-loading resources, such as unoptimized images, large CSS/JS files, and third-party scripts.
• Suggests image compression and lazy loading to speed up rendering.
• Highlights unnecessary JavaScript execution that may be slowing down interactivity.
• Recommends caching strategies to improve page speed and reduce server load.
• Detects render-blocking elements that delay the loading of critical content.

4. Accessibility Testing

Problem: The web application does not comply with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).

>How AI Helps:

• Identifies missing alt text for images, affecting screen reader users.
• Highlights low color contrast issues that make text hard to read.
• Suggests adding ARIA roles and labels to improve assistive technology compatibility.
• Ensures proper keyboard navigation, making the site accessible for users who rely on tab-based navigation.
• Detects form accessibility issues, such as missing labels or incorrectly grouped form elements.

5. Security and Compliance Checks

Problem: The website has security vulnerabilities that could expose sensitive user data.

How AI Helps:

• Detects insecure HTTP requests that should use HTTPS.
• Highlights CORS misconfigurations that may expose sensitive data.
• Identifies missing security headers, such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security.
• Flags exposed API keys or credentials in the network logs.
• Suggests best practices for secure authentication and session management.

6. Troubleshooting JavaScript Errors

Problem: JavaScript errors are causing unexpected behavior in the web application.

>How AI Helps:

• Analyzes console errors and suggests fixes.
• Identifies undefined variables, syntax errors, and missing dependencies.
• Helps debug event listeners and asynchronous function execution.
• Suggests ways to optimize JavaScript performance to avoid slow interactions.

7. Cross-Browser Compatibility Testing

Problem: The website works fine in Chrome but breaks in Firefox or Safari.

How AI Helps:

• Highlights CSS properties that may not be supported in some browsers.
• Detects JavaScript features that are incompatible with older browsers.
• Suggests polyfills and workarounds to ensure cross-browser support.

8. Enhancing Test Automation Strategies

Problem: Automated tests fail due to dynamic elements or inconsistent behavior.

How AI Helps:

• Identifies flaky tests caused by timing issues and improper waits.
• Suggests better locators for web elements to improve test reliability.
• Provides workarounds for handling dynamic content (e.g., pop-ups, lazy-loaded elements).
• Helps in writing efficient automation scripts by improving test structure.

Getting Started with Chrome DevTools AI Ask Assistant

Before diving into specific tabs, let’s first enable the AI Ask Assistant in Chrome DevTools:

Step 1: Open Chrome DevTools

• Open Google Chrome.
• Navigate to the web application under test.
• Right-click anywhere on the page and select Inspect, or press F12 / Ctrl + Shift + I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Option + I (Mac).
• In the DevTools panel, click on the Experiments settings.

Step 2: Enable AI Ask Assistant

• Enable AI Ask Assistant if it’s available in your Chrome version.
• Restart DevTools for the changes to take effect.

Using AI Ask Assistant in the Network Tab for Testers

The Network tab is crucial for testers to validate API requests, analyze performance, and diagnose failed network calls. The AI Ask Assistant enhances this by providing instant insights and suggestions.

Step 1: Open the Network Tab

• Open DevTools (F12 / Ctrl + Shift + I).
• Navigate to the Network tab.
• Reload the page (Ctrl + R / Cmd + R) to capture network activity.

Step 2: Ask AI to Analyze a Network Request

• Identify a specific request in the network log (e.g., API call, AJAX request, third-party script load, etc.).
• Right-click on the request and select Ask AI Assistant.
• Ask questions like:
• “Why is this request failing?”
• “What is causing the delay in response time?”
• “Are there any CORS-related issues in this request?”
• “How can I debug a 403 Forbidden error?”

Step 3: Get AI-Powered Insights for Testing

• AI will analyze the request and provide explanations.
• It may suggest fixes for failed requests (e.g., CORS issues, incorrect API endpoints, authentication errors).
• You can refine your query for better insights.

Step 4: Debug Network Issues from a Tester’s Perspective

Some example problems AI can help with:

• API Testing Issues: AI explains 404, 500, or 403 errors.
• Performance Bottlenecks: AI suggests ways to optimize API response time and detect slow endpoints.
• Security Testing: AI highlights CORS issues, mixed content, and security vulnerabilities.
• Data Validation: AI helps verify response payloads against expected values.

Here I asked: “What is causing the delay in response time?”

Using AI Ask Assistant in the Elements Tab for UI Testing

The Elements tab is used to inspect and manipulate HTML and CSS. AI Ask Assistant helps testers debug UI issues efficiently.

Step 1: Open the Elements Tab

• Open DevTools (F12 / Ctrl + Shift + I).
• Navigate to the Elements tab.

Step 2: Use AI for UI Debugging

• Select an element in the HTML tree.
• Right-click and choose Ask AI Assistant.
• Ask questions like:
• “Why is this button not clickable?”
• “What styles are affecting this dropdown?”
• “Why is this element overlapping?”
• “How can I fix responsiveness issues?”

Practical Use Cases for Testers

1. Debugging a Failed API Call in a Test Case

• Open the Network tab → Select the request → Ask AI why it failed.
• AI explains 403 error due to missing authentication.
• Follow AI’s solution to add the correct headers in API tests.

2. Identifying Broken UI Elements

• Open the Elements tab → Select the element → Ask AI why it’s not visible.
• AI identifies display: none in CSS.
• Modify the style based on AI’s suggestion and verify in different screen sizes.

3. Validating Page Load Performance in Web Testing

• Open the Network tab → Ask AI how to optimize resources.
• AI suggests reducing unnecessary JavaScript and compressing images.
• Implement suggested changes to improve performance and page load times.

4. Identifying Accessibility Issues

• Use the Elements tab → Inspect accessibility attributes.
• Ask AI to suggest ARIA roles and label improvements.
• Verify compliance with WCAG guidelines.

Conclusion

The AI Ask Assistant in Chrome DevTools makes debugging faster and more efficient by providing real-time AI-driven insights. It helps testers and developers quickly identify and fix network issues, UI bugs, performance bottlenecks, security risks, and accessibility concerns, ensuring high-quality applications. While AI tools improve efficiency, expert testing is essential for delivering reliable software. Codoid, a leader in software testing, specializes in automation, performance, accessibility, security, and functional testing. With industry expertise and cutting-edge tools, Codoid ensures high-quality, seamless, and secure applications across all domains.

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