Introducing the hierarchy pyramid of AI agent and enterprise automation use-cases, provided by Antti Karjalainen, Co-Founder of Sema4AI:
The illustration below shows three different categories of automation use-cases. At the bottom, there is a large amount of tactical work that does not require complex decision-making but runs on custom context. This work operates on data, documents, and systems that are highly specific to the enterprise in question.
This is where RPA operates, and it’s a good place to start with the first AI agent projects. Look for opportunities in workflows that come before and after RPA routines and expand the scope of automation with agents. Use AI agents to grow the scope of automation beyond what’s possible with standard RPA.
Moving up the pyramid, we have a work that involves standard decisions that operate on standard context. This represents work that is often captured by platforms and systems of record like ServiceNow or Salesforce. Here, you will be best served by buying AI and automation solutions from these vendors and relying on their ability to innovate on the data and processes they own. There’s a copilot for every app right now.
Finally, at the top of the pyramid we have the most strategic category of work that is central to how the enterprise does business and operates. This work involves complex decisions, and it operates on custom context. Nobody will be able to come in from the outside to teach you how to do this work better because it is why the company exists. This is where built-for-purpose enterprise AI agents are going to have the biggest impact.
Agents can work alongside humans or replace some of our human tasks altogether and enable people to focus on more productive work. Since we, as an industry, are still early in our journey with intelligent AI agents, it will take time to get to this most valuable and strategic work, but right now is the right time to start building the skills and platforms that are needed to get there…
So, how to get started on your journey from Automation to AI? Proceed to this page to get the answer.
