So glad to see you writing, I wish I could give you 500% upvote.
I do think things have taken a much more significant slant to BOT over the last year in the summer of 2022 when archmage first became a prevalent option to 'retail' manual players. I still enjoy making time to do some of my battles manually, but I'll be the first to admit that at times I don't have the time and the bot is so convenient to get my 24 daily battles in.
What I haven't been so willing to admit is how much harder it has become to win as a manual player. Maybe part of it is that I am battling at high champion without owning/renting some key meta cards, but my strategy is also not nearly as nuanced to compete with the consistency of BOT. I am quite curious to see how the new modern format will feel like once anti-bot rules in place, so maybe it will give me the incentive to switch back to playing modern manually. I've been collecting key wild cards and battling wild for the last 5 seasons.