Have you ever wished a clone would do your chores? One version of you tends
to tedious, repetitive tasks like laundry and cleaning while the “real” you
tackles more interesting goals. Clones aren’t here yet, but robotic process
automation (RPA) serves a similar business purpose. RPA is a software that
can be trained to complete administrative tasks like formatting documents,
copying spreadsheets, and answering frequently asked questions. It’s also
the engine behind chatbots, probably the most familiar type of RPA-in-action.
While RPA focuses on executing tasks and process steps, chatbots enables
interactions through natural language and conversation. While a chatbot can
interact with a customer to take information about an order issue or answer
frequently asked questions, RPA can connect to the back office order system
to retrieve the order status and make updates. The RPA market is expected to
reach $5 billion by 2024, according to a Global Markets Insights report.
How it works
A copycat bot records a user’s every click and keystroke in completing a task.
The bot then mimics the human actions like the user it learned from, and it can
do it faster and without mistakes. A combination of screen scraping, workflow
automation, and machine learning technologies underpin how the bot works
and learns. RPA can interact with various web applications, documents,
spreadsheet, reports and data exactly like a human user would. In action,
the bot swiftly pulls relevant data from specific documents and can glean
based on statistical analysis how to alter or format that information. RPA
reduces possible human error while letting people devote their time and
energy to work that computers can’t mimic and critical-thinking tasks rather
than repetitive ones.
The a-ha moment
The path to RPA began in the 1990s with user interface testing, which ensured
that a program visual layout functioned smoothly. As personal computers
cropped up, companies automated UI testing with programming scripts. In the
2000s, screen scraping tech boomed in large part from banks and insurance
companies, which handle oodles of data at once. In the 2010s, as businesses
sought to reduce expenses while continuing to go digital and with the
advancement of computer vision technology, RPA was born from other
developing tech like work automation and machine learning, emerging as an
efficient, affordable option.
What it means for everyday life
RPA can save a boatload of time and energy. RPA most immediately lends
itself to round-the-clock customer service, back office tasks, procurement and
shipping order processing, and administrative assistance at a retail, insurance,
healthcare website, or customer support portal where chatbots can respond to
customers with natural language. RPA is also
becoming an automation tool for everybody given that you do not need a
programming background to use it. Businesses save money and labor costs,
reduce errors, and can devote more time to matching customers with human
reps and dealing with more complex issues.
How it might change the world
Soon you’ll be able to use RPA for things like insurance claims processing
operations and other tedious but necessary tasks without any paperwork. As
RPA becomes more intelligent, bots will be able to file and process data
online directly. One day, a chatbot will be able to tell you how much you save
while comparing flights or autonomously answer an email inquiry regarding a
banking dispute. Eventually the technology will move into hyper-automation
where it is able to do more complex tasks without human intervention.
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