How AI-Powered Process Automation Is Helping Companies

These are challenging times. Now, more than ever, businesses are looking for ways to streamline and optimize their operations. And on the quest for higher productivity and a better customer experience, a growing number of companies are realizing the potential that lies in combining Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). 

In this article, we'll have a closer look at three crucial business areas where AI-powered Process Automation helps a wide range of companies tackle the challenges of today – and of tomorrow. 

Table of Contents

1. What is AI-powered Robotic Process Automation?
2. The Business Benefits of Intelligent Automation
3. AI and RPA to Manage Big Data
4. Increased Productivity With Intelligent Automation
5. Improved Sales and Marketing
6. Conclusion

What is AI-powered Robotic Process Automation?

Before we move on to look at the use cases, let's define what we mean by AI-powered Robotic Process Automation. RPA on its own is mainly used to deal with structured data, and therein lies one of its limitations. That's where the AI part comes in handy. AI can be used to gather insights from semi-structured and unstructured data AI and process and convert that data to a structured form that RPA can understand. AI-powered process automation combines Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). These technologies combined enable businesses to scale in a whole new way. Because while manual processes inevitably limit your company's growth potential, AI and RPA together remove those limitations. Suddenly you have access to a "workforce" that is always on, never gets tired, and that makes no mistakes. 

The Business Benefits of Intelligent Automation

According to McKinsey, approximately half of all the work that is currently manual could be automated. The societal and business implications of this are enormous, as we're facing a paradigm shift that will profoundly change the way we work. Tedious, repetitive tasks will increasingly be performed by robots, enabling the human part of the workforce to focus on the more cerebral and value-adding (and stimulating!) work. 

From a business perspective, we'll look closer at three different areas where these technologies hold tremendous potential to create improvements:

• Big Data
• Productivity and processes
• Sales and Marketing

Using AI and RPA to Manage Big Data

According to McKinsey, "the amount of data in our world has [recently] been exploding, and analyzing large data sets—so-called big data—will become a key basis of competition, underpinning new waves of productivity growth, innovation, and consumer surplus...Leaders in every sector will have to grapple with the implications of big data, not just a few data-oriented managers."

Better predictions mean better decisions

It's safe to say that the rise of Big Data is shaping our present and our future, as access to ever-increasing amounts of information is becoming increasingly transformative across all kinds of industries. The potential in Big Data is mind-blowing, but the sheer amount of information is perhaps the largest obstacle to making use of it. AI-powered RPA enables companies to identify patterns and draw conclusions. This empowers them to predict scenarios and make data-driven strategic decisions unprecedentedly. 

Increased Productivity With Intelligent Automation

One of the most significant gains of Automation in general, and AI-powered RPA in particular, is the increased efficiency of business operations. Companies can exchange clunky processes and legacy tech for automated and streamlined workflows by implementing intelligent automation processes. 

Automation of repetitive tasks and no human error

Intelligent Automation increases productivity by letting software robots perform repetitive tasks. Employees no longer have to spend time checking orders or calibrating data. The right software also eliminates the human errors that are difficult to avoid when you're tired from repeating the same task over and over. And as seemingly small mistakes can have serious consequences, this is an essential benefit of Automation. 

Process mining enables data-driven operations

AI-powered Automation can be used to discover, monitor, and improve processes by extracting knowledge from the data and logs already available in today's information systems. This process, often referred to as process mining, allows companies to analyze and optimize existing business processes by basing the decision on facts rather than assumptions and gut feeling. 

Improved Sales and Marketing

Everyone who's ever worked in sales or marketing knows the importance of timing. To win a deal, you need to approach your prospect with the right solution and at the right time. Knowing when and where to promote a product or service is vital, and the only way to know that at scale is through Automation. 

Identify windows of opportunity

AI-powered process automation can help you not only to find your ideal clients but to understand when they're in the market for your type of offering. AI can be used to transform your website in a way that will appeal to consumers, presenting the right content in the right way, based on the digital footprint they've left. 

Conclusion

In this article, we've examined three business areas where AI-powered Automation has truly disruptive potential. The extent to which businesses succeed in using AI and RPA to manage and analyze big data will likely be what sets the winners of tomorrow apart from the rest. By harvesting and interpreting the deep business insights hidden in the vast amounts of information swooshing through cyberspace, those companies will quickly gain a competitive edge. By also implementing Automation in production, companies can reach unprecedented levels of efficiency and productivity. Automating repetitive tasks to be performed by software robots eliminates human error. Employees get to focus on more creative and stimulating work that drive innovation. And by making use of these technologies within sales and marketing, the company of tomorrow will know exactly when and to whom they should market and sell for maximum ROI.

In short: to meet the challenges of our increasingly complex and digital world, AI-powered Process Automation is one of the most potent tools for tomorrow's businesses. And those who are hesitant to take the leap risk getting hopelessly left behind.