What is an Intelligent Automation?

Rule-based automation (a simple if-this-then-that rule, traditional RPA scripting a UI) is deterministic — it executes the exact same steps every time and breaks the moment the input deviates from what it was scripted for. Intelligent automation adds a reasoning layer: instead of matching an input against a rigid pattern, an AI model interprets an email's intent, extracts fields from an unstructured invoice, or decides which of several possible next steps makes sense given context — then hands the decision off to the automation layer to execute. This combination is what makes automation viable for the majority of real business processes, which involve unstructured inputs (emails, PDFs, phone transcripts, free-text tickets) that classic rule-based bots simply can't parse reliably. The AI component handles the judgment and interpretation; the automation component handles the reliable, repeatable execution once a decision is made — together covering ground neither approach handles well alone.