Artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are two of the most successful technologies for organizations to achieve the seemingly incompatible goals of increasing customer satisfaction and employee morale while reducing operational costs.
Let’s take a closer look at what RPA and AI have to offer, and how these complementary technologies are best deployed, and to what advantage.
RPA: Augmenting People with Process Automation
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the use of software “robots” (i.e., specialized computer programs) to standardize and automate repeatable business processes. RPA robots perform the same way every time. They don’t learn from one repetition to another, and they will not improvise or come up with a better way of doing their programmed task.
Instead of making people redundant, RPA robots are more like virtual assistants who let you offload repetitive tasks that aren’t complicated but consume valuable employee time. Unlike humans, robots never get bored as they complete these tasks exactly as instructed and with the utmost efficiency.
Using RPA to augment people is a proven way to benefit the organization with:
- Accuracy: minimize human error and the costs associated with it
- Compliance: create audit trails and follow regulatory rules precisely
- Speed: complete tasks 4-5 times faster, improving efficiency
- Reliability: bots are always available and work round-the-clock, minimizing delays
- Improved Employee Morale: free up employees from repetitive tasks so they can focus on productivity – not processing.