Why Does My Stagehand Script Fail Midway When Using Both page.act() and agent.execute() Together?

[chainwizard333]

I wrote a Stagehand automation that first uses page.act() to navigate to a page and click a button, then uses agent.execute() to handle a more abstract task like "fill out the contact form and submit it." However, the script sometimes breaks after the page.act() step—the agent claims elements aren’t found or says the page didn’t load, even though it visibly has. I’m not sure if this is a timing issue, a context handoff problem, or something with the agent’s DOM awareness. Is there a recommended way to combine manual and AI-driven steps more reliably?

[legendy4141]

What you’re encountering is likely a context sync issue between Playwright’s deterministic flow and the AI agent’s looser execution style. After using page.act(), there may be a delay before dynamic content is fully rendered, especially if the action triggers JavaScript changes. The agent starts operating based on the current page snapshot, so if the DOM isn’t stable yet, it can misinterpret the state. To fix this, insert an explicit await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle') or similar delay between steps, and make sure any navigation or page-altering actions have settled before calling agent.execute(). This creates a smoother handoff and allows the agent to operate on a fully-ready context.