Stagehand v3 is a significant upgrade to the automation framework, enhancing speed, flexibility, and AI compatibility by removing dependencies on Playwright and introducing a modular driver system that operates at the protocol level. This new version is 44% faster across various web environments, particularly excelling in complex scenarios like deeply nested iframes and shadow DOMs. Stagehand v3's architecture is designed to be AI-native, offering automatic caching of discovered elements and actions, reducing token waste, and featuring a self-healing execution layer for adaptability. It also introduces a model-agnostic Agent Mode, allowing integration with any LLM or computer use agent, making it suitable for diverse automation tasks. The framework is now positioned as an all-encompassing automation platform that is programmable, stable, and efficient, promising enhanced performance and observability to users upgrading from v2 or newcomers.