According to McKinsey<\/a>, automation and AI will drive tectonic plate-sized shifts in the workplace over the next ten to fifteen years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Specifically, they believe these technologies will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n McKinsey argues that, due to the mass adoption of automation and AI, the basic structure of many organizations will shift towards cross-functional teams that emphasize agility and speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet McKinsey is not the only company that recognizes the trend towards automation. Other major consulting firms, such as Gartner<\/a> and BCG<\/a>, have also covered the impending influence of automation, AI, and other emerging technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To understand the true impact that these trends will have on the business landscape and the future of work, it is important to understand exactly what they are and what value they bring to the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Automation<\/a> is nothing new\u2014it simply refers to the idea that machines perform work normally done by humans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n During the industrial revolution, new machinery automated a number of tasks that humans had traditionally performed manually. Now, during the digital revolution, digital technology is automating a new type of work: cognitive work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to advances in AI, computers are now able to perform tasks such as data entry, math, analysis, and much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As technology advances, however, the complexity and capabilities of these automation platforms are growing rapidly. These rapid advances have given rise to a wide range of automation tools, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Conceptually, these automation technologies may make sense, but they are still very new and unfamiliar to many businesses. To gain a better understanding of their capabilities, it is often a good idea to see how these technologies are being applied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Assisted RPAs are automation platforms that perform part of a workflow, while human workers perform the other part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An employee may provide data to a chatbot or actionbot<\/a>, which can then perform a task on that user\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Likewise, a workflow automation platform may perform 80% of a task, while requiring input from users at certain points in the workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You probably could have guessed, but un<\/em>assisted RPAs can perform tasks that require no input from humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google\u2019s DeepMind AI<\/a> offers a good example of automated decision-making, or cognitive automation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They used DeepMind to analyze and optimize the power usage effectiveness of their data center cooling systems, which resulted in a 40% reduction in energy usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this case, using DeepMind to optimize their energy costs offered more than one advantage. Not only did this experiment show that the task could be performed without humans, it showed that AI could deliver better outcomes than people, at least in the right scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over time, we can expect to see cognitive automation become even more powerful, and as it increases in sophistication, we can expect to see an increasing convergence of automation technologies\u2014some of which may give rise to entirely new operating models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The convergence of RPA, AI, and other technologies can drive automation at every level of the organization, from high-level decision-making to frontline customer service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Banks can provide an illustrative example. Though they were not necessarily known to be drivers of digital innovation<\/a> before the start of the pandemic, many are beginning to leverage automation to cut costs, drive transformation, and restructure their operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cognitive automation, for instance, can be used for fraud detection<\/a>, loan accreditation, personalization, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When combined with other technologies, such as RPA and robotics, even more functions within the organization can be automated.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHyperautomation software vs. automation vs. AI<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Real-world examples of RPA, cognitive automation, and hyperautomation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Assisted and unassisted RPA<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Automated decision-making<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Total hyperautomation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.walkme.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/Employee-productivity-B-min_2643bf25.png\"\/)
<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Automation platforms, hyperautomation software, AI, and other adjacent technological trends are set to transform the economy, the way we work,