RPA uses “robots” or “bots” to take over repetitive, rule-based digital tasks that human workers would have to do. But what exactly is an RPA bot? To put it in perspective, an RPA bot is not a robot that walks around inside of a company handling repetitive tasks. Although this may be what most people think when they first hear of it, RPA bots are a form of intelligent software.

So now that we know what a bot is, there are two kinds of bots that are common in RPA.

Unattended bots: As the name suggests, these bots can do their job without human supervision. They are server-based bots that are able to automate a business process that doesn’t need a human’s interference. A good example of unattended bots is that they can update a database with new details about customer contact info, or they can extract certain data from an invoice. Learn more about automating invoice processing here.

Attended bots: Attended automation is when RPA bots work with human workers to complete repetitive tasks faster and more efficiently. A good example of this is a bot automatically filling in a form for a human worker or providing employees with data that points them toward the best action as they help a customer create a new account. Attended bots can help employees follow company regulations and policies by letting them focus on adding value instead of focusing on business processes and systems. Think of attended bots like a digital personal assistant. It can be personalized for certain needs, skills, and proficiencies of each employee.

Typically most businesses can benefit from both kinds of bots. Combining the two offers greater efficiency for business processes than just using either one by itself. It is not possible to automate everything with unattended bots, but a human team can work together with their robotic workforce.

A good example of this is the telecommunications industry. A service employee could use RPA to create or categorize technical support forms for contact center agents. While the agent is working with the customer to fix their technical issue, an RPA bot could be pulling the customer’s data from different sources into one view. This gives the agent time to focus on the customer since they don’t need to find the data. The bot can also create links to important actions or applications, allowing the employee to give the customer a fast and personalized experience.

When both attended and unattended bots are in your workforce, server-based bots can request an attended bot if it can’t complete a task. A human employee will be alerted by the attended bot since it needs certain things from the employee if it cannot complete a task. The employee will then collaborate with the attended bot to fix any complications or process errors in real-time. Once any issues are resolved, automated processes can continue without having to stop.

If you are thinking about automating different business processes, get in contact with Digital Workforce Solutions to see which solution will work best for you!