When should I use attended vs unattended automation?

Attended: processes requiring human judgment, variable inputs, or customer interaction. Unattended: high-volume, rule-based processes that can run without supervision. Many processes use both.

Does attended automation need special infrastructure?

Minimal infrastructure - runs on existing workstations. Need: RPA client software, appropriate application access, basic monitoring. Much simpler than unattended automation setup.

How do I measure attended automation value?

Track: time saved per interaction, handling time reduction, user satisfaction, error rates, and number of assisted transactions. Harder to measure than unattended but value is real.

Can attended automation work with AI?

Yes, increasingly common. AI provides: suggestions, predictions, auto-completion, document understanding. Human makes final decisions. Powerful combination of AI capability and human judgment.

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Attended Automation

Automation that runs on a user's workstation and works alongside humans, triggered and supervised by the user.

In-Depth Explanation

Attended automation (also called desktop automation) runs on individual users' computers and works collaboratively with humans. Unlike unattended automation that runs independently, attended automation is triggered by users and may require human input during execution.

Characteristics:

Runs on user's desktop/workstation
User triggers and monitors execution
Can request human input during process
Assists with repetitive parts of user's work
Integrates with user's applications

Common use cases:

Contact centre: Pull customer data while agent talks
Data entry: Auto-fill forms from source documents
Application navigation: Handle repetitive clicks and inputs
Information lookup: Gather data from multiple systems
Document preparation: Pre-populate templates

Benefits:

Immediate productivity gains
User maintains control
Handles variations with human judgment
No server infrastructure needed initially
Easy pilot programs

Business Context

Attended automation is ideal for processes requiring human judgment at certain steps, providing assistance while keeping humans in control.

How Clever Ops Uses This

We deploy attended automation for Australian businesses where human oversight is needed - contact centres, advisory roles, and complex decision processes.