The Couchbase Autonomous Operator 2.3.0 release introduces enhancements to lifecycle automation via the cao utility, which replaces previous tools like cbopcfg and cbopinfo by consolidating their functionalities and adding a self-certification feature. The cao utility facilitates provisioning, log and resource collection, and platform certification with commands such as creating operator components, managing clusters, and saving cluster topologies. While not a complete solution for Couchbase Server provisioning, it effectively sets up development and production environments and works well with other tools like helm, although mixing installers is not advised to prevent upgrade complications. The utility also supports creating modular integration and deployment pipelines, and further details can be found in the Couchbase Autonomous Operator documentation.