Is Robotic Process Automation Becoming Intelligent? Early Evidence of Influences of Artificial Intelligence on Robotic Process Automation

Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) are changing the nature of work and enable the increasing automation of tasks. The trend around AI technologies has also reached Robotic Process Automation (RPA). To date, RPA is known as a software solution that performs simple and routine tasks based on clearly defined rules. However, past research indicates that through the application of AI and Machine Learning technologies, RPA is starting to get "smart" by including intelligent features. Since little is known about the capabilities of intelligent RPA in academia, this paper examines how AI impacts the capabilities and applicability of RPA. Based on case studies with global RPA software providers and RPA integrators, evidence for cognitive capabilities within RPA is examined within the boundaries of a definition of cognitive intelligence. The paper also discusses the general necessity for cognitive intelligence within RPA software.