What is business process automation?
Business process automation is the use of technology to run repetitive tasks and workflows automatically, with little human effort. Think invoice processing, employee onboarding, or routing a customer request to the right team, all handled by software.
Technology runs repetitive tasks and workflows automatically, with little human effort.
Invoice processing, employee onboarding, or routing a customer request to the right team.
People are freed from the dull, error prone work that eats their day.
AI lets automation handle messier, less predictable work than the rigid rule based tools of the past.
The goal is not just speed. It is consistency, and freeing people from the dull, error prone work that eats their day. When the routine runs itself, your team spends time on judgment and relationships instead of data entry.
Modern automation increasingly leans on AI, which lets it handle messier, less predictable work than the rigid rule based tools of the past. Anthropic’s engineering guidance draws the same line, noting that workflows offer predictability and consistency for well-defined tasks, whereas agents are the better option when flexibility and model-driven decision-making are needed at scale.
Figure 1. Workflows or agents
Drawn from the line this article quotes from Anthropic’s engineering guidance, Building effective agents (19 December 2024): workflows offer predictability and consistency for well-defined tasks, whereas agents are the better option when flexibility and model-driven decision-making are needed at scale. The two short lines restate this article’s own answer. Structure only.
Sthenos builds automation systems on an AI and machine learning foundation, and most engagements start with a free proof of concept on a single high friction process.
What is the difference between automation and AI?
Automation runs defined steps. AI adds judgment, letting automation handle tasks that are not fully predictable.
Automation
What it does- Runs defined steps
- Runs the routine, freeing people from dull, error prone work
AI
What it adds- Judgment
- Handles tasks that are not fully predictable
- Messier, less predictable work than rigid rule based tools
Related reading
Related terms:
Services: Artificial Intelligence
