AutoIt is one of the first Task Automation tools that was available. It is a Basic-like scripting language for the Windows environment. I've used it all the way up to Windows 11 with no Windows compatibility issues.
While there is a GUI component, using the GUI to automate tasks that involve websites is an exercise in frustration. Essentially, there is no automation for websites without using external libraries. And, those libraries, are (for lack of better words): crap). For example, those libraries do not use the actual browser, but a "stub" of the browser alongside the browser itself. That means that most websites have already identified the footprint of the stub as unfriendly to their login security - and block the process from continuing past the initial website launch. There are sites that allow the "stub" to function for automation, however there is an issue. When you close down the automation project, the "stub" remains in the computer's task list. There is absolutely no way to prevent this. According to the documentation, the "stub" should terminate on the program's execution end, but it doesn't. The only way to remove the "stub" from computer memory and task list is to manually end it. What a waste of time and effort.
This comes after many many sessions trying to get a decent GUI automation working with websites. I "kluged" it by running the browser and a call to the website. Then it was Tabs, Enter, and Pause combination to try to get it to work. It ended up broken more times than it worked ... it was all dependent on a website designer adding messages and more things (or less things) to click.
The UI automation, while it was promising, had far too many issues to deal with. I gave up on that, it wasn't a good solution.
After many many years with AutoIt, I started searching for a solution that promised at least a more modern and integrated GUI and website automation potential. At the top of the list was a similar project called AutoHotKey (AHK). It is a free and open-source project with excellent support and current updates. It is not as user-friendly as it claims. There is no repository for user submitted scripts and only tidbits of code that are hard to find – you need to know what you are searching for (which usually means some basic background in programming concepts).
AutoHotKey is a dream to use. I use an external library called UIA. It is an implementation of Microsoft's UI automation framework and authored for AHK by Descolada. The automation uses the installed versions of browsers, not "stubs". There is no extra impact on memory or any manual tasks that need to be shut down.
I must point out that my automation needs are quite simple. I want to be able to control the login process for various sites, without having to remember the hyperlinks to the login page. I want to be able to fill-in a form and click to the button to finish the process on a one-page form, and be able to fill in fields on multiple pages before finishing the process. Many of these sites hide the identification of form fields through script automation and make it impossible to determine field names or id. UIA handles that nicely with an "inspect" window that filters through all that and easily gives you the names and ids of fields. A quick right click and you can paste it into your own initializing program. I wrote a small utility to store these into .INI files and use them exactly as copied by UIA. My little utility even removes unwanted characters to make the process even smoother.
It took me less time to write the AutoHotKey program that works flawlessly than any attempt with AutoIt. AutoIt gets uninstalled now and AutoHotKey is the new "standard" for automation in my book.