diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2f13284..744ef9b 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -50,3 +50,6 @@ storybook-static
 # Tests
 coverage/
 .aider*
+playwright-report/
+blob-report/
+.playwright/
diff --git a/e2e/pages/base-page.ts b/e2e/pages/base-page.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5e7c8e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/pages/base-page.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+import type { Page } from '@playwright/test';
+
+/**
+ * Shared base for all page objects. Subclasses extend this and expose
+ * domain-specific locators + actions — never raw selectors leaking into tests.
+ */
+export abstract class BasePage {
+    protected constructor(protected readonly page: Page) {}
+
+    /**
+     * Navigate to a path relative to baseURL.
+     */
+    async goto(path = '/') {
+        await this.page.goto(path);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/e2e/pages/comparison-page.ts b/e2e/pages/comparison-page.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d456604
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/pages/comparison-page.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import type {
+    Locator,
+    Page,
+} from '@playwright/test';
+import { BasePage } from './base-page';
+
+/**
+ * Page object for the root comparison view. Encapsulates locators for the
+ * primary controls so tests don't hardcode aria-labels or DOM structure.
+ */
+export class ComparisonPage extends BasePage {
+    readonly searchInput: Locator;
+    readonly previewInput: Locator;
+
+    constructor(page: Page) {
+        super(page);
+        this.searchInput = page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Search typefaces' });
+        this.previewInput = page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Preview text' });
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Open the root page and wait for the main controls to be interactable.
+     */
+    async open() {
+        await this.goto('/');
+        await this.searchInput.waitFor({ state: 'visible' });
+    }
+
+    async searchFor(query: string) {
+        await this.searchInput.fill(query);
+    }
+
+    async setPreviewText(text: string) {
+        await this.previewInput.fill(text);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/e2e/smoke.test.ts b/e2e/smoke.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d616504
--- /dev/null
+++ b/e2e/smoke.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+import {
+    expect,
+    test,
+} from '@playwright/test';
+import { ComparisonPage } from './pages/comparison-page';
+
+test.describe('smoke', () => {
+    test('loads the comparison view with its primary controls', async ({ page }) => {
+        const view = new ComparisonPage(page);
+        await view.open();
+
+        await expect(view.searchInput).toBeVisible();
+        await expect(view.previewInput).toBeVisible();
+    });
+
+    test('accepts a search query', async ({ page }) => {
+        const view = new ComparisonPage(page);
+        await view.open();
+        await view.searchFor('Inter');
+
+        await expect(view.searchInput).toHaveValue('Inter');
+    });
+});
diff --git a/playwright.config.ts b/playwright.config.ts
index bc84607..ab4707a 100644
--- a/playwright.config.ts
+++ b/playwright.config.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,54 @@
-import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';
+import {
+    defineConfig,
+    devices,
+} from '@playwright/test';
+
+/**
+ * E2E config. Tests run against the production build via `vite preview` on port 4173.
+ * Locally: all three browser engines run in parallel.
+ * CI: chromium only, workers=1 — the runner has 6GB RAM and `yarn build` already
+ * spikes 1–2GB, so we keep the E2E peak bounded.
+ */
+const isCI = !!process.env.CI;
 
 export default defineConfig({
+    testDir: 'e2e',
+    testMatch: /.*\.test\.ts$/,
+
+    fullyParallel: true,
+    forbidOnly: isCI,
+    retries: isCI ? 2 : 0,
+    workers: isCI ? 1 : undefined,
+
+    reporter: isCI
+        ? [['html', { open: 'never' }], ['github']]
+        : [['html', { open: 'on-failure' }], ['list']],
+
+    use: {
+        baseURL: 'http://localhost:4173',
+        trace: 'on-first-retry',
+        screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
+        video: 'retain-on-failure',
+    },
+
+    projects: isCI
+        ? [{ name: 'chromium', use: { ...devices['Desktop Chrome'] } }]
+        : [
+            {
+                name: 'chromium',
+                use: {
+                    ...devices['Desktop Chrome'],
+                },
+            },
+            {
+                name: 'firefox',
+                use: { ...devices['Desktop Firefox'] },
+            },
+        ],
     webServer: {
         command: 'yarn build && yarn preview',
         port: 4173,
-        reuseExistingServer: true,
+        reuseExistingServer: !isCI,
+        timeout: 120_000,
     },
-    testDir: 'e2e',
 });
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
index 68fface..f80031d 100644
--- a/tsconfig.json
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -40,7 +40,8 @@
     "src/**/*.d.ts",
     "vitest.config*.ts",
     "vitest.setup*.ts",
-    "vitest.types.d.ts"
+    "vitest.types.d.ts",
+    "playwright.config*.ts"
   ],
   "exclude": [
     "node_modules",