An automation framework is a set of guidelines and best practices that are used to provide structure and support for automated testing. It is designed to optimize the process of creating, maintaining, and executing automated tests. It provides a set of guidelines and conventions that define how tests should be written, organized, and executed. Additionally, the framework typically includes a library or tool set of code that is used to facilitate the automation process. These tools and libraries are typically implemented via programming languages such as Java, JavaScript, or Python. The automation framework is used to reduce the amount of time, effort, and resources required to set up and maintain automated tests.