Unattended vs. Attended RPA

What is Attended RPA?

Attended RPA, or attended automation, is a bot manually triggered by a user or a predefined action to complete a task. Similar to a virtual assistant, it requires some level of human involvement. Until that trigger or predefined action is initiated, the bot remains in the background, poised for action to help complete a process.

The defining attribute of attended RPA is that a human is involved. Botswork alongside people to assist with repetitive tasks. As soon as an attended RPA finishes its part of a task or activity, the user then returns to the process to complete the task.

Examples of Attended RPA

Attended RPA are used in a variety of ways that enable organizations to streamline repetitive processes. Here are a few examples:

• Healthcare organizations for processing claims.
• Finance teams for processing invoices.
• HR teams for employee onboarding.
• Retail organizations for processing receipts or managing inventory.
• Customer service teams for processing address change requests.

What is Unattended RPA?

Unattended RPA is a bot triggered automatically (versus manually, as with attended RPA) to complete an end-to-end process. Rather than requiring human intervention, it follows a pre-determined, rules-based process and operates independently on a preset schedule or as triggered by events.

Unattended RPA performs activities or interacts with applications at any time without human interaction. This is the defining characteristic of unattended RPA. These unattended bots work independently–interacting with humans only to seek validation or clarification or to note an exception.

Examples of Unattended RPA

Unattended RPA are used in a variety of ways, such as:

• Payroll for processing and voiding checks.
• Customer support teams to engage with users.
• Emailing notifications to users.
• Moving data between files and systems.

What are the benefits of attended and unattended RPA?

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How Attended and Unattended RPA Work

Whether attended or unattended, both varieties of robotic process automation enable processes to run more efficiently and quickly.

How attended RPA works

Attended RPA work alongside humans, like a virtual assistant. They are manually triggered by a user or a predefined action to complete a task before handing the process back to a user to complete the process.

How unattended RPA works

Unattended RPA bots are triggered automatically to complete an end-to-end process. They follow a pre-determined, rules-based process and operate independently on a preset schedule or as triggered by events. They require zero human involvement from start to finish.

What is hybrid RPA?

Hybrid RPA bots are a blend of both attended and unattended RPA bots that communicate with each other throughout a process.

Hybrid RPA bots shine during customer-facing interactions. A hybrid RPA can analyze a conversation and help guide an employee with next steps. Or, an unattended bot can start a process before sending it to an attended bot when human involvement is needed.