AI and Automation Glossary

Our Glossary is a handy reference for understanding industry terms. We break down complex jargon into simple definitions to enhance your knowledge, empower you in your work and make our content more accessible. If you have any terms you’d like us to include, feel free to reach out

A

Automation

Automation involves using technology to perform tasks with minimal human intervention. It streamlines processes, enhances efficiency, and reduces errors by automatically executing repetitive or complex tasks. Automation is applied in various industries, from manufacturing to software, enabling faster, consistent outcomes and freeing up human resources for more strategic work.

Agentic AI

Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that operate autonomously, making decisions and taking actions on behalf of users or organizations. These AI agents are designed to act independently, often using machine learning and algorithms to adapt to different situations, solve problems, and achieve goals without constant human supervision.

Automation 360

Automation 360 is a cloud-native RPA platform by Automation Anywhere, designed to automate business processes across various applications. It provides tools for building, deploying, and managing bots that handle repetitive tasks, enabling organizations to increase efficiency, reduce errors, and accelerate digital transformation with a scalable, user-friendly automation solution.

API

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of rules and protocols that allow different software applications to communicate with each other. APIs enable the integration of systems, allowing them to share data and functionality, facilitating the development of interconnected applications and enhancing overall efficiency and user experience.

Automation Testing

Incorporating automation testing into the development process significantly enhances software quality. It speeds up testing, reduces errors, and catches bugs early, making your development cycles more streamlined and cost-effective. This approach lets testers focus on complex tasks and fosters better teamwork between development and testing teams. As software development becomes increasingly intricate, adopting a strong testing strategy is essential for delivering high-quality, reliable software.

AI data analytics

Predictive analytics is a powerful tool that helps companies predict what might happen in the future by analyzing past data. By looking for patterns in this data, companies can spot potential problems or opportunities before they happen. This process involves using advanced techniques, but at its core, it’s about making smarter decisions based on what the data suggests. Predictive analytics helps businesses turn their data into useful insights, enabling them to make decisions faster and with more confidence.

B

Banking Automation

In banking, automation is not just limited to auditing and updating customer information. Tasks such as bank account management, credit and debit card operations, suspicious activity investigation, locking and unlocking accounts, limit breach management, managing transaction charges in a different currency, loan management, and reconciliation, customer data collation and vendor activation can also be automated.

C

Center of Excellence

A Center of Excellence (COE) team is a dedicated group within your company focused on leveraging automation to its full potential. This team brings together automation experts with a shared vision, working collaboratively to innovate and enhance your automation operations.

Citizen Developer

Citizen Development involves leveraging business employees with little to no coding experience to develop their own automated processes using a citizen developer platform such as UiPath StudioX or OpenBots Studio. They can prioritize end-to-end complex unattended automations while business users create their own simpler automations.

Cloud Automation

Cloud automation involves using tools and scripts to manage and control cloud computing resources automatically, streamlining deployment, scaling, and management processes, and reducing manual intervention for increased efficiency.

Cloud Migration

Cloud migration is the process of moving data, applications, and IT infrastructure from on-premises systems to cloud-based environments, enabling scalability, cost savings, and enhanced flexibility for businesses.

Conversational AI

Conversational AI refers to technologies like chatbots and virtual assistants that use natural language processing (NLP) to interact with users, simulating human-like conversations to assist with tasks and inquiries.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a system that helps businesses manage interactions with customers and prospects, streamlining sales, marketing, and customer service to improve relationships and drive growth.

D

Document Automation

Document automation is the use of technology to create, manage, and process documents automatically, reducing manual effort, minimizing errors, and streamlining workflows for tasks like contracts, invoices, and reports.

Document Understanding

Document Understanding leverages AI and machine learning to automatically extract, classify, and analyze information from documents, enabling accurate data processing and insights from unstructured text, images, and forms.

Document Classification

Document classification is the process of automatically organizing and categorizing documents based on their content, using algorithms and AI, to improve data management, retrieval, and workflow efficiency.

E

Enterprise Automation

Enterprise automation is the strategic application of technologies to automate business processes and tasks across an organization. It centralizes control to optimize business processes by aligning automation efforts with broader organizational goals, allowing businesses to boost agility and unlock greater value.

F

G

Generative AI

Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that learns patterns from existing data to create fresh and innovative content. Using algorithms like ChatGPT, DALL-E, and BARD, it can generate diverse forms of content such as images, audio, simulations, text, code, and videos.

Generative AI is not just limited to creative applications. It plays a significant role in various industries, helping to automate processes, enhance productivity, and solve complex problems.

H

Hyperautomation

Hyperautomation integrates technologies like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and more to automate complex business processes. Hyperautomation is proving to be just the right technology for today’s complex businesses, and Gartner has already identified it as one of the top 10 strategic technology trends.

I

iPaaS

iPaaS is a cloud-based service that enables end users and organizations to integrate various data sources, services, and applications. It is a platform solution that connects these disparate entities, both internal and external to the organization. 

Intelligent Document Processing

Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) connects AI and machine learning to transform unstructured documents into actionable data. By combining OCR with advanced algorithms, IDP automates the extraction, classification, and processing of complex documents, streamlining business operations and extracting valuable insights.

Intelligent Automation

Intelligent Automation (IA) combines AI, machine learning, and RPA to automate repetitive tasks, gather useful data, and support informed decision-making. IA supports business to expand and drastically transform the way it operates.

Insurance Automation

In the insurance sector, RPA can be applied across various functions, from policy administration to claims processing and customer service.  Insurance automation allows firms to make their business processes increasingly streamlined and efficient as well as significantly improving their capacity to take on a larger quantity of clients.

J

K

L

Large Language Models (LLMs)

Advanced AI models called Large Language Models (LLMs) are created to understand, manipulate, and produce human language with amazing fluency and precision. Large Language Models (LLMs) have revolutionized the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP), enabling machines to comprehend and generate human-like text with extraordinary accuracy and fluency.

M

N

O

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a technology that converts different types of documents, such as scanned paper documents, PDFs, or images, into editable and searchable data. OCR software identifies characters from printed or handwritten text, enabling automation in data entry, document processing, and information retrieval.

P

Process Automation

Business Process Re-Engineering (BPR) involves fundamentally redesigning core business processes to achieve significant improvements in productivity, efficiency, and quality. It focuses on analyzing workflows and eliminating inefficiencies. Process automation complements BPR by using technology, like RPA, to automate repetitive tasks, streamlining operations, and reducing human error.

Process Mining

Process mining is a technique that analyzes data from business systems to map, visualize, and improve processes. By extracting insights from event logs, it reveals how processes actually operate, identifying bottlenecks, inefficiencies, and deviations. This data-driven approach helps organizations optimize workflows and drive continuous improvement.

Power Automate

Power Automate is a Microsoft tool that enables users to automate workflows across apps and services. It allows the creation of automated processes, from simple tasks to complex workflows, without needing extensive coding skills. Power Automate integrates with various Microsoft and third-party applications, enhancing productivity and efficiency.

Process Discovery

Process discovery is the method of identifying and mapping out business processes by analyzing data from existing systems and user interactions. It uncovers the actual workflows within an organization, revealing variations, inefficiencies, and optimization opportunities. This insight helps in improving processes, enhancing automation, and ensuring alignment with business goals.

Process Intelligence

Process Intelligence uses data analytics and AI to monitor, analyze, and optimize business processes, providing insights into performance, identifying inefficiencies, and guiding improvements for enhanced operational efficiency.

Predictive AI

Predictive AI uses machine learning algorithms to analyze historical data and identify patterns, enabling it to forecast future outcomes, trends, and behaviors, helping businesses make data-driven decisions.

Q

R

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that uses software robots or "bots" to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks across applications. RPA mimics human interactions with digital systems, streamlining processes like data entry, processing transactions, and responding to emails. It increases efficiency, reduces errors, and frees up human workers for more complex tasks.

S

Salesforce Einstein

Salesforce Einstein is an AI-powered platform within Salesforce that provides predictive analytics, natural language processing, and automation tools, enabling businesses to enhance customer engagement, forecast trends, and make smarter decisions.

Salesforce CPQ

Salesforce CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) is a sales tool within Salesforce that helps companies quickly and accurately generate quotes for orders. It automates the process of configuring products, setting prices, and creating proposals. Salesforce CPQ ensures pricing consistency, reduces errors, and accelerates the sales cycle by streamlining complex quoting processes.

Semantic Automation

Semantic automation is an advanced approach that uses natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence (AI) to understand and automate tasks based on the meaning of data, rather than just structured inputs. Unlike traditional automation, which relies on predefined rules, semantic automation interprets unstructured data like emails, documents, and conversations, enabling more intelligent decision-making and task execution. This approach enhances automation in complex scenarios, improving accuracy, adaptability, and the ability to handle diverse data sources.

T

Task Mining

Task mining is a technique that uses software to capture and analyze the detailed actions employees perform while executing tasks on their computers. By tracking keystrokes, mouse clicks, and application usage, task mining provides insights into how specific tasks are carried out, identifying inefficiencies and repetitive actions. This granular data helps organizations optimize processes, identify automation opportunities, and improve overall productivity by understanding the real-time execution of tasks within workflows.

U

V

W

Workflow Automation

Workflow automation is the process of designing, executing, and automating tasks and business processes using software tools, eliminating the need for manual intervention. It involves creating predefined rules and logic that guide tasks through various stages, ensuring consistent and efficient execution. Workflow automation streamlines operations, reduces errors, and increases productivity by automating repetitive tasks, approvals, and notifications. It is widely used across industries to enhance efficiency and improve overall process management.