diff --git a/docs/element-selection.md b/docs/element-selection.md
index f8441b17c..556962140 100644
--- a/docs/element-selection.md
+++ b/docs/element-selection.md
@@ -115,11 +115,33 @@ And when you know there are multiple matches and want a specific one, `elementIn
 I.click('a', step.opts({ elementIndex: 2 }))
 ```
 
+## Text Passed Instead of a Selector
+
+`waitForElement`, `seeElement`, `waitForVisible` and the rest of the wait/assert family expect a CSS or XPath locator. Unlike `click` or `fillField`, they don't fall back to searching by text. A sentence passed to them is treated as CSS, matches nothing, and the step fails with a timeout that says nothing about the real cause:
+
+```js
+I.waitForElement('Description Persistence Suite') // waits 10s, then "still not present on page"
+```
+
+CodeceptJS detects this and warns when the run is in debug mode:
+
+```
+I wait for element "Description Persistence Suite"
+  › [Warning] "Description Persistence Suite" doesn't look like a CSS or XPath selector.
+    I.waitForElement() expects an element locator, so this text is matched as CSS
+    and finds nothing. Use I.waitForText() to wait for a text on page.
+```
+
+With `strict: true` the same check throws `InvalidSelector` instead of warning, so the test fails immediately with a readable message rather than after the full timeout.
+
+The check only fires on strings that can't be a selector: they contain a space, carry no CSS or XPath punctuation, and aren't a chain of tag names. `div span`, `my-app my-button`, `text=Save Changes` and `~accessibility id` are all left alone.
+
 ## Summary
 
 | Situation | Approach |
 |-----------|----------|
 | You want to catch ambiguous locators early | Enable `strict: true` in helper config |
+| You passed a text where a selector is expected | Run with `--debug` for the warning, or `strict: true` to fail fast |
 | You need a specific element from a known list | Use `step.opts({ elementIndex: N })` |
 | You want to iterate over all matching elements | Use [`eachElement`](/els) from the `els` module |
 | You need full control over element inspection | Use [`grabWebElements`](/WebElement) to get all matches |
diff --git a/lib/helper/Playwright.js b/lib/helper/Playwright.js
index 939988c9a..db09f9af2 100644
--- a/lib/helper/Playwright.js
+++ b/lib/helper/Playwright.js
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ import { setRestartStrategy, restartsSession, restartsContext, restartsBrowser }
 import { createValueEngine, createDisabledEngine } from './extras/PlaywrightPropEngine.js'
 import { seeElementError, dontSeeElementError, dontSeeElementInDOMError, seeElementInDOMError } from './errors/ElementAssertion.js'
 import { dontSeeTraffic, seeTraffic, grabRecordedNetworkTraffics, stopRecordingTraffic, flushNetworkTraffics } from './network/actions.js'
+import { checkSelectorIsNotText } from './extras/selectorCheck.js'
 
 const pathSeparator = path.sep
 
@@ -1499,6 +1500,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async moveCursorTo(locator, offsetX = 0, offsetY = 0) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     let context = null
     if (typeof offsetX !== 'number') {
       context = offsetX
@@ -1672,6 +1674,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> scrollTo }}
    */
   async scrollTo(locator, offsetX = 0, offsetY = 0) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     if (typeof locator === 'number' && typeof offsetX === 'number') {
       offsetY = offsetX
       offsetX = locator
@@ -1829,6 +1832,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabWebElements(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const elements = await this._locate(locator)
     return elements.map(element => new WebElement(element, this))
   }
@@ -1838,6 +1842,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabWebElement(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const element = await this._locateElement(locator)
     return new WebElement(element, this)
   }
@@ -1967,6 +1972,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async seeElement(locator, context = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     let els
     if (context) {
       const contextEls = await this._locate(context)
@@ -1988,6 +1994,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async dontSeeElement(locator, context = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     let els
     if (context) {
       const contextEls = await this._locate(context)
@@ -2008,6 +2015,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> seeElementInDOM }}
    */
   async seeElementInDOM(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     try {
       return empty('elements on page').negate(els.filter(v => v).fill('ELEMENT'))
@@ -2020,6 +2028,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> dontSeeElementInDOM }}
    */
   async dontSeeElementInDOM(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     try {
       return empty('elements on a page').assert(els.filter(v => v).fill('ELEMENT'))
@@ -2415,6 +2424,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabNumberOfVisibleElements(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     let els = await this._locate(locator)
     els = await Promise.all(els.map(el => el.isVisible()))
     return els.filter(v => v).length
@@ -2546,6 +2556,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async seeNumberOfElements(locator, num) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const elements = await this._locate(locator)
     return equals(`expected number of elements (${new Locator(locator)}) is ${num}, but found ${elements.length}`).assert(elements.length, num)
   }
@@ -2556,6 +2567,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async seeNumberOfVisibleElements(locator, num) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this.grabNumberOfVisibleElements(locator)
     return equals(`expected number of visible elements (${new Locator(locator)}) is ${num}, but found ${res}`).assert(res, num)
   }
@@ -2704,6 +2716,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabTextFrom(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const roleElements = await handleRoleLocator(this.page, locator)
     if (roleElements && roleElements.length > 0) {
       const text = await roleElements[0].textContent()
@@ -2734,6 +2747,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabTextFromAll(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     const texts = []
     for (const el of els) {
@@ -2764,6 +2778,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> grabHTMLFrom }}
    */
   async grabHTMLFrom(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const html = await this.grabHTMLFromAll(locator)
     assertElementExists(html, locator)
     this.debugSection('HTML', html[0])
@@ -2774,6 +2789,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> grabHTMLFromAll }}
    */
   async grabHTMLFromAll(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     return Promise.all(els.map(el => el.innerHTML()))
   }
@@ -2783,6 +2799,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabCssPropertyFrom(locator, cssProperty) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const cssValues = await this.grabCssPropertyFromAll(locator, cssProperty)
     assertElementExists(cssValues, locator)
     this.debugSection('CSS', cssValues[0])
@@ -2794,6 +2811,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabCssPropertyFromAll(locator, cssProperty) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     const cssValues = await Promise.all(els.map(el => el.evaluate((el, cssProperty) => getComputedStyle(el).getPropertyValue(cssProperty), cssProperty)))
 
@@ -2805,6 +2823,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async seeCssPropertiesOnElements(locator, cssProperties) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator)
     assertElementExists(res, locator)
 
@@ -2840,6 +2859,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async seeAttributesOnElements(locator, attributes) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator)
     assertElementExists(res, locator)
 
@@ -2893,6 +2913,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabAttributeFrom(locator, attr) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const attrs = await this.grabAttributeFromAll(locator, attr)
     assertElementExists(attrs, locator)
     this.debugSection('Attribute', attrs[0])
@@ -2904,6 +2925,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabAttributeFromAll(locator, attr) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     const array = []
 
@@ -2946,6 +2968,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async saveElementScreenshot(locator, fileName) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const outputFile = screenshotOutputFolder(fileName)
 
     const res = await this._locateElement(locator)
@@ -3162,6 +3185,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForEnabled }}
    */
   async waitForEnabled(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -3188,6 +3212,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForDisabled }}
    */
   async waitForDisabled(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -3244,6 +3269,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async waitNumberOfVisibleElements(locator, num, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -3285,6 +3311,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async waitForElement(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -3300,6 +3327,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForVisible }}
    */
   async waitForVisible(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -3330,6 +3358,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForInvisible }}
    */
   async waitForInvisible(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -3361,6 +3390,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> waitToHide }}
    */
   async waitToHide(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -3741,6 +3771,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForDetached }}
    */
   async waitForDetached(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -3817,6 +3848,7 @@ class Playwright extends Helper {
    * {{> grabElementBoundingRect }}
    */
   async grabElementBoundingRect(locator, prop) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const el = await this._locateElement(locator)
     assertElementExists(el, locator)
     const rect = await el.boundingBox()
diff --git a/lib/helper/Puppeteer.js b/lib/helper/Puppeteer.js
index ff00f6dd8..f89ec8795 100644
--- a/lib/helper/Puppeteer.js
+++ b/lib/helper/Puppeteer.js
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ import { dontSeeTraffic, seeTraffic, grabRecordedNetworkTraffics, stopRecordingT
 import WebElement from '../element/WebElement.js'
 import { selectElement } from './extras/elementSelection.js'
 import { fillRichEditor } from './extras/richTextEditor.js'
+import { checkSelectorIsNotText } from './extras/selectorCheck.js'
 
 let puppeteer
 
@@ -823,6 +824,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> moveCursorTo }}
    */
   async moveCursorTo(locator, offsetX = 0, offsetY = 0) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     let context = null
     if (typeof offsetX !== 'number') {
       context = offsetX
@@ -918,6 +920,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> scrollTo }}
    */
   async scrollTo(locator, offsetX = 0, offsetY = 0) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     if (typeof locator === 'number' && typeof offsetX === 'number') {
       offsetY = offsetX
       offsetX = locator
@@ -1064,6 +1067,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabWebElements(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const elements = await this._locate(locator)
     return elements.map(element => new WebElement(element, this))
   }
@@ -1073,6 +1077,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabWebElement(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const elements = await this._locate(locator)
     if (elements.length === 0) {
       throw new ElementNotFound(locator, 'Element')
@@ -1081,6 +1086,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
   }
 
   async grabWebElement(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     assertElementExists(els, locator)
     return els[0]
@@ -1190,6 +1196,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> seeElement }}
    */
   async seeElement(locator, context = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     let els
     if (context) {
       const contextPage = await this.context
@@ -1213,6 +1220,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> dontSeeElement }}
    */
   async dontSeeElement(locator, context = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     let els
     if (context) {
       const contextPage = await this.context
@@ -1236,6 +1244,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> seeElementInDOM }}
    */
   async seeElementInDOM(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     try {
       return empty('elements on page').negate(els.filter(v => v).fill('ELEMENT'))
@@ -1248,6 +1257,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> dontSeeElementInDOM }}
    */
   async dontSeeElementInDOM(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     try {
       return empty('elements on a page').assert(els.filter(v => v).fill('ELEMENT'))
@@ -1724,6 +1734,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabNumberOfVisibleElements }}
    */
   async grabNumberOfVisibleElements(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     let els = await this._locate(locator)
     els = (await Promise.all(els.map(el => el.boundingBox() && el))).filter(v => v)
     // Puppeteer visibility was ignored? | Remove when Puppeteer is fixed
@@ -1853,6 +1864,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async seeNumberOfElements(locator, num) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const elements = await this._locate(locator)
     return equals(`expected number of elements (${new Locator(locator)}) is ${num}, but found ${elements.length}`).assert(elements.length, num)
   }
@@ -1862,6 +1874,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async seeNumberOfVisibleElements(locator, num) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this.grabNumberOfVisibleElements(locator)
     return equals(`expected number of visible elements (${new Locator(locator)}) is ${num}, but found ${res}`).assert(res, num)
   }
@@ -1988,6 +2001,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabTextFromAll }}
    */
   async grabTextFromAll(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     const texts = []
     for (const el of els) {
@@ -2000,6 +2014,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabTextFrom }}
    */
   async grabTextFrom(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const texts = await this.grabTextFromAll(locator)
     assertElementExists(texts, locator)
     if (texts.length > 1) {
@@ -2038,6 +2053,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabHTMLFromAll }}
    */
   async grabHTMLFromAll(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     const values = await Promise.all(els.map(el => el.evaluate(element => element.innerHTML)))
     return values
@@ -2047,6 +2063,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabHTMLFrom }}
    */
   async grabHTMLFrom(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const html = await this.grabHTMLFromAll(locator)
     assertElementExists(html, locator)
     if (html.length > 1) {
@@ -2060,6 +2077,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabCssPropertyFromAll }}
    */
   async grabCssPropertyFromAll(locator, cssProperty) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     const res = await Promise.all(els.map(el => el.evaluate(el => JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(getComputedStyle(el))))))
     const cssValues = res.map(props => props[toCamelCase(cssProperty)])
@@ -2071,6 +2089,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabCssPropertyFrom }}
    */
   async grabCssPropertyFrom(locator, cssProperty) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const cssValues = await this.grabCssPropertyFromAll(locator, cssProperty)
     assertElementExists(cssValues, locator)
 
@@ -2085,6 +2104,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> seeCssPropertiesOnElements }}
    */
   async seeCssPropertiesOnElements(locator, cssProperties) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator)
     assertElementExists(res, locator)
 
@@ -2119,6 +2139,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> seeAttributesOnElements }}
    */
   async seeAttributesOnElements(locator, attributes) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const elements = await this._locate(locator)
     assertElementExists(elements, locator)
 
@@ -2177,6 +2198,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabAttributeFromAll }}
    */
   async grabAttributeFromAll(locator, attr) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     const array = []
     for (let index = 0; index < els.length; index++) {
@@ -2190,6 +2212,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabAttributeFrom }}
    */
   async grabAttributeFrom(locator, attr) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const attrs = await this.grabAttributeFromAll(locator, attr)
     assertElementExists(attrs, locator)
     if (attrs.length > 1) {
@@ -2203,6 +2226,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> saveElementScreenshot }}
    */
   async saveElementScreenshot(locator, fileName) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const outputFile = screenshotOutputFolder(fileName)
 
     const res = await this._locate(locator)
@@ -2291,6 +2315,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForEnabled }}
    */
   async waitForEnabled(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
     await this.context
@@ -2352,6 +2377,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> waitNumberOfVisibleElements }}
    */
   async waitNumberOfVisibleElements(locator, num, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
     let waiter
@@ -2381,6 +2407,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForClickable }}
    */
   async waitForClickable(locator, waitTimeout) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const el = await this._locateElement(locator)
     if (!el) {
       throw new ElementNotFound(locator, 'Element to wait for clickable')
@@ -2399,6 +2426,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForElement }}
    */
   async waitForElement(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -2419,6 +2447,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async waitForVisible(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
     await this.context
@@ -2438,6 +2467,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForInvisible }}
    */
   async waitForInvisible(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
     await this.context
@@ -2457,6 +2487,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> waitToHide }}
    */
   async waitToHide(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
     let waiter
@@ -2740,6 +2771,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForDetached }}
    */
   async waitForDetached(locator, sec) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const waitTimeout = sec ? sec * 1000 : this.options.waitForTimeout
     locator = new Locator(locator, 'css')
 
@@ -2777,6 +2809,7 @@ class Puppeteer extends Helper {
    * {{> grabElementBoundingRect }}
    */
   async grabElementBoundingRect(locator, prop) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const els = await this._locate(locator)
     assertElementExists(els, locator)
     const rect = await els[0].boundingBox()
diff --git a/lib/helper/WebDriver.js b/lib/helper/WebDriver.js
index 62c0b4dc2..7a689ab2c 100644
--- a/lib/helper/WebDriver.js
+++ b/lib/helper/WebDriver.js
@@ -43,6 +43,7 @@ import { dontSeeTraffic, seeTraffic, grabRecordedNetworkTraffics, stopRecordingT
 import WebElement from '../element/WebElement.js'
 import { selectElement } from './extras/elementSelection.js'
 import { fillRichEditor } from './extras/richTextEditor.js'
+import { checkSelectorIsNotText } from './extras/selectorCheck.js'
 
 const SHADOW = 'shadow'
 const webRoot = 'body'
@@ -1018,6 +1019,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabWebElements(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const elements = await this._locate(locator)
     return elements.map(element => new WebElement(element, this))
   }
@@ -1027,6 +1029,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabWebElement(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const elements = await this._locate(locator)
     if (elements.length === 0) {
       throw new ElementNotFound(locator, 'Element')
@@ -1424,6 +1427,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabTextFromAll(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator, true)
     let val = []
     await forEachAsync(res, async el => {
@@ -1439,6 +1443,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabTextFrom(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const texts = await this.grabTextFromAll(locator)
     assertElementExists(texts, locator)
     if (texts.length > 1) {
@@ -1453,6 +1458,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabHTMLFromAll(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const elems = await this._locate(locator, true)
     const html = await forEachAsync(elems, elem => elem.getHTML(false))
     this.debugSection('GrabHTML', String(html))
@@ -1464,6 +1470,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async grabHTMLFrom(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const html = await this.grabHTMLFromAll(locator)
     assertElementExists(html, locator)
     if (html.length > 1) {
@@ -1503,6 +1510,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> grabCssPropertyFromAll }}
    */
   async grabCssPropertyFromAll(locator, cssProperty) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator, true)
     const val = await forEachAsync(res, async el => this.browser.getElementCSSValue(getElementId(el), cssProperty))
     this.debugSection('Grab', String(val))
@@ -1513,6 +1521,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> grabCssPropertyFrom }}
    */
   async grabCssPropertyFrom(locator, cssProperty) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const cssValues = await this.grabCssPropertyFromAll(locator, cssProperty)
     assertElementExists(cssValues, locator)
 
@@ -1527,6 +1536,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> grabAttributeFromAll }}
    */
   async grabAttributeFromAll(locator, attr) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator, true)
     const val = await forEachAsync(res, async el => el.getAttribute(attr))
     this.debugSection('GrabAttribute', String(val))
@@ -1537,6 +1547,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> grabAttributeFrom }}
    */
   async grabAttributeFrom(locator, attr) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const attrs = await this.grabAttributeFromAll(locator, attr)
     assertElementExists(attrs, locator)
     if (attrs.length > 1) {
@@ -1640,6 +1651,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async seeElement(locator, context = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const locateFn = prepareLocateFn.call(this, context)
     const res = context ? await locateFn(locator) : await this._locate(locator, true)
     assertElementExists(res, locator)
@@ -1655,6 +1667,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> dontSeeElement }}
    */
   async dontSeeElement(locator, context = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const locateFn = prepareLocateFn.call(this, context)
     const res = context ? await locateFn(locator) : await this._locate(locator, false)
     if (!res || res.length === 0) {
@@ -1673,6 +1686,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async seeElementInDOM(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._res(locator)
     try {
       return empty('elements').negate(res)
@@ -1686,6 +1700,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async dontSeeElementInDOM(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._res(locator)
     try {
       return empty('elements').assert(res)
@@ -1739,6 +1754,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> seeNumberOfElements }}
    */
   async seeNumberOfElements(locator, num) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator)
     return assert.equal(res.length, num, `expected number of elements (${new Locator(locator)}) is ${num}, but found ${res.length}`)
   }
@@ -1747,6 +1763,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> seeNumberOfVisibleElements }}
    */
   async seeNumberOfVisibleElements(locator, num) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this.grabNumberOfVisibleElements(locator)
     return assert.equal(res, num, `expected number of visible elements (${new Locator(locator)}) is ${num}, but found ${res}`)
   }
@@ -1755,6 +1772,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> seeCssPropertiesOnElements }}
    */
   async seeCssPropertiesOnElements(locator, cssProperties) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator)
     assertElementExists(res, locator)
 
@@ -1789,6 +1807,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> seeAttributesOnElements }}
    */
   async seeAttributesOnElements(locator, attributes) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator)
     assertElementExists(res, locator)
     const elemAmount = res.length
@@ -1817,6 +1836,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> grabNumberOfVisibleElements }}
    */
   async grabNumberOfVisibleElements(locator) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator)
 
     let selected = await forEachAsync(res, async el => el.isDisplayed())
@@ -1903,6 +1923,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async scrollIntoView(locator, scrollIntoViewOptions) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(withStrictLocator(locator), true)
     assertElementExists(res, locator)
     const elem = usingFirstElement(res)
@@ -1914,6 +1935,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async scrollTo(locator, offsetX = 0, offsetY = 0) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     if (typeof locator === 'number' && typeof offsetX === 'number') {
       offsetY = offsetX
       offsetX = locator
@@ -1953,6 +1975,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> moveCursorTo }}
    */
   async moveCursorTo(locator, xOffset, yOffset) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     let context = null
     if (typeof xOffset !== 'number' && xOffset !== undefined) {
       context = xOffset
@@ -1982,6 +2005,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async saveElementScreenshot(locator, fileName) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const outputFile = screenshotOutputFolder(fileName)
 
     const res = await this._locate(withStrictLocator(locator), true)
@@ -2457,6 +2481,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForEnabled }}
    */
   async waitForEnabled(locator, sec = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const aSec = sec || this.options.waitForTimeoutInSeconds
 
     return this.browser.waitUntil(
@@ -2482,6 +2507,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForElement }}
    */
   async waitForElement(locator, sec = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const aSec = sec || this.options.waitForTimeoutInSeconds
 
     return this.browser.waitUntil(
@@ -2500,6 +2526,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForClickable }}
    */
   async waitForClickable(locator, waitTimeout) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     waitTimeout = waitTimeout || this.options.waitForTimeoutInSeconds
     let res = await this._locate(locator)
     res = usingFirstElement(res)
@@ -2648,6 +2675,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    *
    */
   async waitForVisible(locator, sec = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const aSec = sec || this.options.waitForTimeoutInSeconds
 
     return this.browser.waitUntil(
@@ -2671,6 +2699,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> waitNumberOfVisibleElements }}
    */
   async waitNumberOfVisibleElements(locator, num, sec = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const aSec = sec || this.options.waitForTimeoutInSeconds
 
     return this.browser
@@ -2698,6 +2727,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForInvisible }}
    */
   async waitForInvisible(locator, sec = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const aSec = sec || this.options.waitForTimeoutInSeconds
 
     return this.browser.waitUntil(
@@ -2715,6 +2745,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> waitToHide }}
    */
   async waitToHide(locator, sec = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     return this.waitForInvisible(locator, sec)
   }
 
@@ -2722,6 +2753,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> waitForDetached }}
    */
   async waitForDetached(locator, sec = null) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const aSec = sec || this.options.waitForTimeoutInSeconds
 
     return this.browser.waitUntil(
@@ -2913,6 +2945,7 @@ class WebDriver extends Helper {
    * {{> grabElementBoundingRect }}
    */
   async grabElementBoundingRect(locator, prop) {
+    checkSelectorIsNotText(this, locator)
     const res = await this._locate(locator, true)
     assertElementExists(res, locator)
     const el = usingFirstElement(res)
diff --git a/lib/helper/errors/InvalidSelector.js b/lib/helper/errors/InvalidSelector.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e900f0c46
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/helper/errors/InvalidSelector.js
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+class InvalidSelector extends Error {
+  constructor(message) {
+    super(message)
+    this.name = 'InvalidSelector'
+  }
+}
+
+export default InvalidSelector
diff --git a/lib/helper/extras/selectorCheck.js b/lib/helper/extras/selectorCheck.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..41db25846
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/helper/extras/selectorCheck.js
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+import store from '../../store.js'
+import InvalidSelector from '../errors/InvalidSelector.js'
+
+const CSS_CHARS = ['.', '#', '[', ']', '=', ':', '>', '+', '~', '*', ',', '|', '^', '$']
+const XPATH_CHARS = ['/', '(', ')', '@', '"', "'"]
+const TAG_NAME = /^[a-z][a-z0-9-]*$/
+
+const SUGGESTIONS = [
+  [/^waitFor|^waitTo|^waitNumber/, 'Use I.waitForText() to wait for a text on page.'],
+  [/^see|^dontSee/, 'Use I.see() or I.dontSee() to assert a text on page.'],
+  [/^grab/, 'Locate the element by CSS or XPath, or use I.grabTextFrom() on its container.'],
+]
+
+export function looksLikeSelector(value) {
+  if (CSS_CHARS.some(char => value.includes(char))) return true
+  if (XPATH_CHARS.some(char => value.includes(char))) return true
+
+  const words = value.trim().split(/\s+/)
+  if (words.length === 1) return true
+  if (words.every(word => TAG_NAME.test(word))) return true
+
+  return false
+}
+
+export function checkSelectorIsNotText(helper, locator) {
+  if (!helper.options.strict && !store.debugMode) return
+  if (typeof locator !== 'string' || !locator.trim()) return
+  if (looksLikeSelector(locator)) return
+
+  const step = store.currentStep
+  const method = step?.title || ''
+  const suggestion = SUGGESTIONS.find(([pattern]) => pattern.test(method))?.[1] || ''
+  const action = method ? `I.${method}()` : 'This step'
+
+  const message = `"${locator}" doesn't look like a CSS or XPath selector. ${action} expects an element locator, so this text is matched as CSS and finds nothing. ${suggestion}`.trim()
+
+  if (helper.options.strict) throw new InvalidSelector(message)
+
+  if (step) {
+    const reported = step.__selectorChecks || (step.__selectorChecks = new Set())
+    if (reported.has(locator)) return
+    reported.add(locator)
+  }
+
+  helper.debugSection('Warning', message)
+}
diff --git a/test/unit/selectorCheck_test.js b/test/unit/selectorCheck_test.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..44cdbc8e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/selectorCheck_test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,120 @@
+import { expect } from 'chai'
+import { looksLikeSelector, checkSelectorIsNotText } from '../../lib/helper/extras/selectorCheck.js'
+import store from '../../lib/store.js'
+
+describe('selectorCheck', () => {
+  describe('looksLikeSelector', () => {
+    it('rejects a text passed instead of a selector', () => {
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('Description Persistence Suite OtherYappiestIndigo973')).to.be.false
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('Log in to your account')).to.be.false
+    })
+
+    it('accepts CSS locators', () => {
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('.monaco-editor')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('#save')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('[data-test] a')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('ul > li')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('li:first-child')).to.be.true
+    })
+
+    it('accepts XPath locators', () => {
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('//*[contains(@class,"monaco-editor")][1]')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('.//div')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('(//a)[1]')).to.be.true
+    })
+
+    it('accepts descendant selectors built from tag names', () => {
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('div span')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('my-app my-button')).to.be.true
+    })
+
+    it('accepts a single word', () => {
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('button')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('Save')).to.be.true
+    })
+
+    it('accepts mobile and engine locators', () => {
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('~my Button')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('android=new UiSelector().text("Save now")')).to.be.true
+      expect(looksLikeSelector('text=Save Changes')).to.be.true
+    })
+  })
+
+  describe('checkSelectorIsNotText', () => {
+    const warnings = []
+    const helper = options => ({
+      options,
+      debugSection: (section, msg) => warnings.push(`[${section}] ${msg}`),
+    })
+
+    beforeEach(() => {
+      warnings.length = 0
+      store.debugMode = false
+      store.currentStep = { title: 'waitForElement' }
+    })
+
+    afterEach(() => {
+      store.debugMode = false
+      store.currentStep = null
+    })
+
+    it('stays silent outside of debug and strict mode', () => {
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(helper({}), 'Description Persistence Suite')
+      expect(warnings).to.be.empty
+    })
+
+    it('stays silent on non-string and empty locators', () => {
+      store.debugMode = true
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(helper({ strict: true }), { css: 'a b' })
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(helper({ strict: true }), undefined)
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(helper({ strict: true }), '   ')
+      expect(warnings).to.be.empty
+    })
+
+    it('warns in debug mode', () => {
+      store.debugMode = true
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(helper({}), 'Description Persistence Suite')
+      expect(warnings).to.have.lengthOf(1)
+      expect(warnings[0]).to.include('[Warning]')
+      expect(warnings[0]).to.include("doesn't look like a CSS or XPath selector")
+      expect(warnings[0]).to.include('I.waitForElement()')
+      expect(warnings[0]).to.include('I.waitForText()')
+    })
+
+    it('does not warn on a valid selector in debug mode', () => {
+      store.debugMode = true
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(helper({}), '.monaco-editor')
+      expect(warnings).to.be.empty
+    })
+
+    it('throws in strict mode', () => {
+      const check = () => checkSelectorIsNotText(helper({ strict: true }), 'Description Persistence Suite')
+      expect(check).to.throw(/doesn't look like a CSS or XPath selector/)
+      try {
+        check()
+      } catch (err) {
+        expect(err.name).to.equal('InvalidSelector')
+      }
+    })
+
+    it('does not throw on a valid selector in strict mode', () => {
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(helper({ strict: true }), '//div[@id="save"]')
+      expect(warnings).to.be.empty
+    })
+
+    it('warns once per locator within a step', () => {
+      store.debugMode = true
+      const h = helper({})
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(h, 'Description Persistence Suite')
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(h, 'Description Persistence Suite')
+      expect(warnings).to.have.lengthOf(1)
+    })
+
+    it('suggests I.see() for assertion steps', () => {
+      store.debugMode = true
+      store.currentStep = { title: 'seeElement' }
+      checkSelectorIsNotText(helper({}), 'Description Persistence Suite')
+      expect(warnings[0]).to.include('I.see()')
+    })
+  })
+})