Using AI on a client as a development tool - advice sought

Development Programming & Scripting
1

I’m developing with a dedicated server and 2 clients in UE5/C++.

As a development tool I would like to control one client myself (character, UI) and automate the other client, i.e. use AI in some form. Let’s call that an “AI client”. It’s a real network client but plays without interaction - to make network dev iteration easier.

I can see 2 obvious approaches:

  1. Use an AIController on the dedi to possess the pawn of the AI client.
  2. Add some AI logic to the PlayerController and enable it for the AI client.

There are pro’s and con’s. For example, the AIController has MoveToLocation, but PlayerState appears to be null, which is inconvenient, since I am trying to emulate a real player but with AI.

Presumably other devs have used this AI client idea - what is the recommended implementation?

Thanks

2

Perhaps hybrid?
AIController for the pawn, PlayerController with AI code for everything else?