Automation
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is software that automates rule-based, repetitive tasks by mimicking user interactions with desktop applications, web browsers, and legacy systems — clicking, typing, copying data between screens. RPA is widely deployed in finance, HR, and operations for processes that have no API and resist code-level integration.
RPA bots are brittle: any UI change in the target application breaks the bot. Modern RPA programs pair traditional bots with AI layers — computer vision for resilience to layout changes, LLMs for decision points, and IDP for document inputs — creating 'intelligent automation' that handles exceptions without human intervention.
Related terms
- Workflow Automation — Workflow automation is the replacement of repetitive multi-step business processes with software that executes them deterministically, with optional human checkpoints at decision points.
- Intelligent Document Processing — Intelligent document processing (IDP) is the automated extraction of structured data from unstructured or semi-structured documents — invoices, contracts, clinical notes — using OCR, NLP, and large language models, then routing the data to downstream systems.
- Computer Use (AI) — Computer use is an AI capability that allows a model to control a computer directly — moving the cursor, clicking UI elements, typing, reading screen content, and navigating applications — without requiring an API.
- Hyperautomation — Hyperautomation is the Gartner-coined strategy of applying AI, machine learning, RPA, process mining, and low-code tools together to automate every business process that can be automated, at enterprise scale.