What is RPA (robotic process automation)?

Robotic process automation uses software robots, usually called bots, that operate apps the way a person does: opening windows, clicking buttons, typing into fields, and copying data between screens. There is no physical robot involved. RPA is most often used with older or closed systems that have no API, where working through the screen is the only practical way in.

For example, a claims team might receive details by email and then retype them into an old internal system that cannot connect to anything else. An RPA bot can be recorded or configured to open each email, copy the policy number and amount, log into the system, fill in the claim form, and save it, working through a queue of cases the same way every time.

RPA's weakness is that it depends on screens staying the same. If a button moves, a field is renamed, or a pop-up appears unexpectedly, the bot can stop or, worse, enter data in the wrong place. For that reason RPA is often described as brittle, and bots need monitoring and regular maintenance whenever the underlying apps change.

Where an app offers an API or a ready-made integration, connecting through that is usually more reliable than RPA. Some RPA tools add AI to read documents or cope with small variations, but the basic trade-off remains: RPA is a practical bridge for systems that cannot be connected any other way, rather than a first choice.

An example

A bot logs into an old billing system each morning, downloads the previous day's invoices, and copies the totals into a spreadsheet.