Intelligent way to deal with data
ROBOTIC process automation (RPA) has existed for many years. Every time you complete an online claim, capture an invoice on a system, or request comparative insurance quotes or flight prices, RPA is the intelligence “engine” in the background.
Its function is to capture your data and ascribe meaning to it on the back end in order to deliver an outcome: your claim outcome, total monthly invoices or the cheapest way to get to your next overseas destination. An automated process rather than a human executing a series of tasks.
However, RPA has traditionally been used to easily identify, allocate and respond to structured data – easily identifiable, locatable and sortable data – such as that entered into pre-scripted forms. Unstructured data has been more difficult to manage with RPA, as it is so varied and inconsistent. The incorporation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into RPA systems is changing this though.
AI is helping RPA become more efficient, responsive and intuitive. For example, previously when you scanned a new, unknown invoice into your system, the RPA wouldn’t know what to do with it.
This was because the information wasn’t located in the places that the RPA expected to pull the data from. The automated system failed and manual intervention was required. Now the intelligence built into RPA helps to identify relevant data, regardless of the placement.
AI together with machine learning enables a robot to learn and adapt the way it responds and reacts based on what it learns. As systems and data collection become more complex, traditional RPA simply isn’t up to the task. From being a system that simply automates a pre-programmed process, RPA is now helping businesses achieve a new level of service delivery.
Today’s customers have become accustomed to instant gratification – a world where they can shop at any time, complete a claim or assessment whenever they have the time or do their tax return at 2am. In fact, we’ve become so used to an always-on world, that we expect the predicted results of our tax return immediately after completing it – results that can be delivered even if processing requires interaction with multiple systems and the completion of various tasks – thanks to RPA.
In the broadest sense, RPA helps businesses automate processes for greater accuracy, efficiency and optimisation. This translates into faster, better service for customers.