How does the Selenium tool control and interact with the web browser during automated tests?

Selenium controls the web browser through WebDriver — a special interface that interacts with the browser at a low level.

Working principle:

1. The test script sends commands to WebDriver.
2. WebDriver translates commands into actions understandable by the browser.
3. The browser performs the actions (e.g., open a page, click an element).
4. WebDriver returns the result of the execution back to the test.

Each browser has its own driver (e.g., chromedriver for Chrome), which implements the WebDriver protocol and manages the browser.

Thus, Selenium does not just emulate actions but directly controls the browser through its API, ensuring high accuracy and reliability of automation.