What Is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a software technology that enables organizations to create, deploy, and manage software robots (often called “bots”) that can mimic human actions when interacting with digital systems and software applications. These digital workers are designed to automate repetitive, rule-based, and predictable tasks that were traditionally performed by human employees.

What an RPA Robot is NOT

Don’t let the word “robot” confuse you. When we hear the word “robot”, we typically picture something shaped like a human that does some pre-programmed physical task.

NOT an RPA Robot

These types of robots are the result of sophisticated hardware and software engineering, and are widely used in manufacturing industries. This is NOT an RPA Robot.

What IS an RPA Robot?

At core, an RPA Robot is a piece of software installed on a computer that is capable of executing a package of other software. The package, called a job, is a bundled up piece of pre-programmed and compiled code that has been sent to it by a controller, or robot manager, usually via a special internet connection. The key here is that the RPA Robot is sitting on the machine, waiting for instructions. It lets the controller know that it is available by emitting a pulse, or heartbeat up to the controller every 30 seconds. This heartbeat mechanism lets the controller know the machine’s current status: busy, available, or unresponsive.

Once it receives a job, the Robot on the machine changes its status to busy, executes the job, sends back the results, and makes itself available again. The types of tasks it can execute can be anything that a human could do on that machine. Examples include: opening a browser, logging into any system, inputting data, reading or sending an email, fetching data off the web, copying and pasting data from one application to another, uploading to a database. Any repetitive, well-defined task is capable of being automated and executed by a bot. This sort of automation opens up possibilities for companies to free up employees for more quality and decision-based tasks instead of mundane, repetitive ones. The robot can handle automations completely independently of human interaction, called unattended, or it can work alongside the human, called attended, or both, in a hybrid way.

Real-World Example

Imagine a bank’s loan processing department. An RPA bot could:

  • Be triggered by a loan application form being uploaded to a folder
  • Collect customer loan application data off the form
  • Verify information across multiple systems
  • Check credit scores
  • Prepare initial approval documentation
  • Route application to appropriate department
  • Send the customer an email

Key Characteristics of RPA

Task Automation
  • Handles repetitive, structured digital tasks
  • Follows predefined rules and logic
  • Operates across multiple software applications
  • Mimics human interactions with computer interfaces
Core Functionality
  • Captures and interprets existing application data
  • Manipulates data
  • Triggers responses
  • Communicates with other digital systems
  • Performs a wide range of pre-defined actions

Types of RPA Bots

  • Attended Automation: Works alongside human employees
  • Unattended Automation: Operates independently without human intervention
  • Hybrid Automation: Combines attended and unattended approaches
  • Cross-Platform Automation: Designed to work on any operating system, has limited capabilities
  • Hosted Automation: Uses the RPA vendor’s server to run the automation

Typical RPA Applications

  • Data entry and validation
  • Invoice processing
  • Customer onboarding
  • Accounting and financial reporting
  • HR administrative tasks
  • Customer service interactions
  • Inventory management
  • Compliance reporting

Benefits of RPA

  • Increased operational efficiency
  • Reduced human error
  • Lower operational costs
  • 24/7 task performance
  • Improved accuracy
  • Enhanced compliance
  • Faster processing times
  • Employee productivity boost

How RPA Works

  • Robots are programmed to follow specific workflows
  • Uses existing user interfaces
  • Performs tasks exactly like a human would
  • Can work with multiple software systems simultaneously
  • Logs and tracks all actions for audit purposes

Limitations of RPA

  • Works best with structured, predictable tasks
  • Requires clear, rule-based processes
  • Not suitable for complex decision-making
  • Needs ongoing maintenance and updates
  • Requires employee training to use UI
  • Limited cognitive capabilities
  • Can be costly at enterprise level

RPA vs. Traditional Automation

  • More flexible and adaptable
  • Doesn’t require deep system integration
  • Can work across different software platforms
  • Faster to implement
  • Lower initial investment
  • Easier to scale and modify

Industries Benefiting from RPA:

See a list of real-world use cases by industry here.

Future of RPA

As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to evolve, RPA is expected to become more intelligent, with advanced cognitive capabilities that can handle more complex, less structured tasks. New AI tools are being rapidly added to RPA by all the vendors. Expect RPA to be “reading” even unstructured documents and interpreting what to do based on sophisticated LLM (Large Language Models). Less programming will be required in the future, bots will be able to recognize documents based on their content, and extract data accordingly. Expect Generative AI to handle more and more creation of documents, emails, and other content. RPA is projected to reach $13.9 billion by 2028, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR): Around 36-38%. Like it or not, RPA is here to stay.