What automation type should be selected for manual testing of user stories?

The selection of manual testing as the appropriate automation type for user stories is justified because manual testing is specifically designed to verify and validate functionality through human interaction rather than automated processes. This testing approach allows testers to engage directly with the application, observing its behavior and verifying that it behaves as expected based on the user stories provided.

Manual testing is crucial in scenarios where understanding the user experience, uncovering unexpected behavior, or exploring functionality is necessary. It allows for creativity and intuition, which automated tests may not capture adequately. Additionally, manual testing is often used for exploratory testing, usability testing, and any situations that require human judgment to assess the application's performance and user interactions.

In contrast, the other options pertain to different types of testing and deployment processes. Automatic tests are typically executed automatically by a testing tool, which would not be suitable for manual verification. Automated deployment refers to the practice of using scripts and tools to deploy code changes without direct human intervention, which is unrelated to the testing process. Quality gates are used to ensure that certain criteria are met before code can progress through the development pipeline and are not a direct method for testing user stories.