UiPath launches Autopilot for businesses to automate work

Robotic process automation (RPA) company UiPath’s business automation platform is getting a boost with the integration of new generative artificial intelligence (AI), specialized AI and automation capabilities that according to the company, will make it simple to automate almost any business task using natural language. 
 
The company announced the new features on Wednesday at its annual user conference FORWARD VI, where it unveiled its Autopilot tool. The company said that Autopilot will be able to “transform paper documents into business applications within a single click”. In a statement, the company that it will deliver “untapped automation prospects” and guarantee the efficient development of new business automations. 
 
UiPath which has been in the RPA space for long, and its solutions are used by companies to reduce costs and operational errors by automating repetitive work-related tasks, such as data entry. Its platform is powered by AI models that learn how these tasks are performed by humans. Those models then create software robots that are able to replicate these workflows, so they no longer need to be done manually. 
 
With the launch of Autopilot, UiPath said, it is integrating generative AI with a library of specialist AI models trained to perform different tasks, and making it so simple that everyone can use it. 

As an example, UiPath said that both professional and citizen developers will be able to use Autopilot to create automations, code and expressions with natural language. With these capabilities, they can create more complex workflows and even build full automation-powered business applications from PDFs and image files. 
 
“By taking a user’s words, screenshots, or PDFs from paper documents as an input, Autopilot for Apps can create a robust automation workflow or interfaces for automations,” said UiPath Chief Product Officer Graham Sheldon. “This enables ‘one-click digital transformation’ for organisations by taking automated action.” 
 
Meanwhile, Autopilot for UiPath Assistant is an AI companion that will help business users everywhere to simplify an array of tasks. Among its capabilities is Clipboard AI, which is a time-saving feature for copying and pasting complex data from one application to another. The AI companion will help users save time to accomplish data-intensive work and other tedious tasks, UiPath said. 
 
Autopilot for Test Suite will help to accelerate every phase of the automation testing lifecycle, meaning new automations can be pushed into production more quickly. And Autopilot for Process Mining will help business analysts to create dashboards that highlight new automation opportunities. 
 
Holger Mueller of Constellation Research said, “UiPath is tackling automation in a holistic way across its value chain, helping business analysts, developers, automation testers and other users,” he said. “The most promising aspect of Autopilot is its document-to-app capability, which can help many organisations to achieve a new level of automation.” 
 
UiPath said its new AI Trust Layer, which is a management framework for the governance of data and user interactions, will further help companies to responsibly manage how generative AI is being used across their organisations. 
 
To be sure, a huge shift is already underway in the realm of software development, marking the inception of a new era driven by gen AI. The rise of code co-pilots like GitHub Copilot, AWS CodeWhisperer, and Google Cloud Duet AI as well as SAP’s Joule, Salesforce’s Einstein among others underscore the synergy between human intellect and machine acumen. Experts believe, these AI-driven assistants are not just altering the way developers code but are also improving user productivity and driving better business outcomes.