Witbe launches Agentic SDK to automate real-device video service testing

The shift from hard-coded scripts to agentic AI addresses a critical bottleneck in streaming: device fragmentation. By allowing QA teams to define outcomes rather than step-by-step paths, operators can maintain stability across hundreds of TV OS versions without constant script maintenance. This approach bridges the gap between synthetic monitoring and actual user experience, which is often distorted by local device performance issues. Within the broader ecosystem, this signals a transition toward autonomous labor in network operations. Watch for whether this reduces ‘false positive’ alerts in Network Operations Centers as Witbe’s browser-based virtual NOC gains traction among Tier 1 operators.

The push toward agentic AI in testing follows a broader industry trend of applying generative models to complex video workflows. According to a June 2024 report from InterDigital and Futuresource, streaming providers are increasingly prioritizing AI for quality-critical tasks to offset the 20-30% rise in operational complexity caused by hybrid cloud-edge delivery models. This move by Witbe mirrors recent activity from competitors like SSIMWAVE (acquired by IMAX), which focuses on perceptual quality metrics, though Witbe’s integration of physical device control remains a differentiator in the hardware validation space. Per Multichannel News in early 2024, Altice has been aggressively consolidating its tech stack across its European and US footprints, making the automation of EPG and UI a focal point for reducing churn linked to interface lag.

Further market movement highlights the urgency of this shift. Per Dataxis research from late 2023, the Smart TV market remains highly fragmented with at least seven major operating systems holding significant market share, including Tizen, WebOS, and Roku OS. This fragmentation forces companies like A+E Networks to maintain massive device labs. The introduction of natural language interfaces for observability, as seen in Witbe’s Smartgate, aligns with a wider 2024 trend where vendors like Telestream and VideoCite have begun integrating LLM-based query layers to help engineers navigate telemetry data. These tools are increasingly necessary as 4K HDR and low-latency DASH streams increase the volume of metadata that human operators must parse during live events.