Did Anthropic Just Kill RPA Bots with Computer Use? [Video]

AI research lab Anthropic recently said the Claude 3.5 Sonnet large language model (LLM) can now interact with computers. It can view a screen, move a cursor, click buttons, and type text, allowing it to perform tasks like filling out forms, navigating websites, and interacting with a wide range of software programmes.

It is similar to what those Robotic Process Automation (RPA) companies promised a decade ago. 

This agentic approach from Anthropic makes many of us wonder about the potential implications for RPA companies like Automation Anywhere, UiPath, and tech giants like Microsoft and IBM, which have RPA solutions for enterprises.

Today, the industry is on the cusp of AI agents, which promise similar automation capabilities. So, this begs the question: What does the future hold for RPA?

The Future of RPA

In a previous interaction with AIM, Mark Geene, senior VP and general manager of product at UiPath, said that RPA bots primarily handle tasks from high repeatability …