Automation Anywhere Wants to Augment Humans with AI, Not Replace Them
AI powered process automation leader Automation Anywhere recently launched a suite of generative AI-powered services, improving its Automation Success Platform with user-friendly tools. Nearly a year ago, AIM spoke to cofounder Ankur Kothari, who shared that the company was “experimenting with various generative AI algorithms, exploring hundreds of different use cases for clients and partners”. Today, Automation Copilot, the company’s flagship generative AI product, is actively used by over 70 customers and has strong market acceptance. In a recent interview with AIM, Adi Kuruganti, chief product officer, Automation Anywhere, provided valuable insights into the company’s journey and strategies for implementing generative AI across various industries. “When we started 18 months ago, our goal was to expand into handling more unstructured documents, such as bills, landing pages, mortgage applications, and healthcare documents,” said Kuruganti, adding that partnerships have played a crucial role in this evolution. Since then, the San Francsico-based company has teamed up with major cloud service providers like Google and Microsoft Azure to leverage their generative AI and cloud capabilities. Early in December last year, Automation Anywhere entered into a multi-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with AWS, which elevates Automation Anywhere into the top 1% of partners globally. Keeping Humans in the Centre Job displacement due to AI has been a pressing concern over the past year, especially as layoffs increased. However, the narrative is shifting as companies now view AI more as a tool to improve productivity rather than a threat to employment. Still, Automation Anywhere, as one of the companies that automate jobs, is well aware of this situation. Kuruganti compared the situation to the time when the internet was born and people had similar fears, but instead, the internet helped create more jobs. That is Automation Anywhere’s goal too. “Especially as an automation company, there is often a fear that automation might replace jobs. Historically, that’s where we began, and it still remains a concern for many of our customers today, especially in sectors that rely heavily on optimisation,” said Kuruganti. So, the company’s key focus areas are reskilling and upskilling, recognising that job roles are changing due to AI. Headed by co-founder and social impact officer Neeti Mehta Shukla, it is working in multiple areas and partnering with large companies to navigate these changes. “But as we’ve seen, generative AI is more relevant for front office roles like customer service. Our goal is to augment human capabilities, not replace them,” added Kuruganti. Acing the GenAI Wave The new product updates include new AI-driven solutions that go beyond data extraction and summarisation to now support structured document types with a more contextual understanding provided by optical character recognition (OCR). “Our compound AI system is pivotal in developing these solutions, utilising vast amounts of data to refine and tailor AI models to specific tasks,” the CPO shared. Its suite of automation tools includes Automation Copilot for Business Users, offering a streamlined interface for automating routine tasks without extensive technical expertise. Document Automation streamlines the processing of all types of documents, enhancing data accuracy and reducing errors. Autopilot facilitates the continuous execution of multi-bot operations for tasks requiring high reliability, such as financial reconciliations. For technical users, the Automation Copilot for Automators enables the creation of complex automation scripts, integrating with existing IT infrastructure and offering error handling and customisation capabilities. Collectively, these tools offer scalable, secure solutions that boost operational efficiency and compliance. Kuruganti shared that six out of ten prominent banks in India use the company’s services. Genesys, Cargill, Salesforce, ZS, Honeywell, and Juniper Networks are some of the company’s customers, and all of them have achieved major milestones with its AI tools. For example, Petrobras, the largest oil and gas company in Brazil, used Automation Copilot for Business Users in a POC to optimise tax processes and realised $120 million in savings. What do Customers Want Now? Customer acceptance has encouraged the company, as many early adopters have witnessed tangible benefits. The focus has shifted from just providing tools to creating outcomes that are meaningful and measurable. For instance, integrating AI with existing systems like Salesforce has allowed businesses to streamline operations and achieve higher efficiency levels. However, when discussing customer adoption, Kuruganti highlighted that one of the biggest hurdles is keeping pace with technological change because “what was relevant even six months ago may be obsolete today”. So, defining and aligning clear outcomes with business goals has become crucial for sustaining innovation. “Our initial product introductions focused on enabling functionalities. Now, we’re seeing active use in production environments, where the real value of these AI applications comes to light,” he noted. Companies are increasingly focused on specific metrics, such as reducing average handling times or improving customer satisfaction scores, to quantify the impact of their investments in AI, especially in sensitive areas like anti-money laundering. What Next? Automation Anywhere is the preferred automation vendor for major corporations like IDFC, Nestle, Adani as well as the Indian government. Kuruganti said, “About 50 to 60% of our global workforce, including product engineering, UX, and customer support, are based in India,” making it a key market for the company. The company has reported robust performance globally, with fourth-quarter results surpassing expectations. There was a 50% growth from the previous quarter and a 14% year-over-year increase in large deals. “For FY24, our goal is to achieve profitability like last quarter, but more importantly, we want to expand our customer base and enhance our service offerings over the next six to 12 months,” concluded Kuruganti.
Automation Copilot,  the company’s flagship generative AI product, is actively used by over 70 customers and has strong market acceptance.
Automation Copilot, the company's flagship generative AI product, is actively used by over 70 customers and has strong market acceptance.
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Shritama (she/her) is a technology journalist at AIM who is passionate to explore generative AI with a special focus on big techs, database, healthcare, DE&amp;I, hiring in tech and more.