Articles
Descarty on AI and business automation, from the practical side.
- RPA vs AI: the difference, five ways to combine them, AI RPAHow RPA and AI differ in how they work, input, screen changes, and cost; five ways to combine them, from AI-OCR to AI RPA; and how to choose for your work.
- RPA maintenance: the work, outsourcing costs, and the teamWhat RPA maintenance involves: stops, screen-change fixes, change requests, upgrades, licenses, the ledger, plus published outsourcing prices and team setup.
- Before leaving UiPath or WinActor for Power Automate (PAD)Moving off UiPath or WinActor to Power Automate Desktop (PAD)? Whether conversion tools exist, the work left per robot, what is free, and self-healing's terms.
- Moving WinActor and UiPath robots to Windows 11 and EdgeA PC refresh, Windows 11, Edge, or an RPA upgrade means re-checking every robot: what breaks in WinActor and UiPath, how to re-test safely, and what to move.
- Copilot Studio computer use vs Power Automate DesktopCopilot Studio computer use and Power Automate Desktop both operate screens. How AI deciding each step, versus repeating set steps, shows up in speed and cost.
- AI agent failures: 5 reasons agents fall out of useAI agents can fall out of use after launch with no errors at all. Five common failures, how to prevent each, and whether outsourcing is really to blame.
- Power Automate or an AI browser agent? How to chooseWhen to use Power Automate, and when to let ChatGPT, Claude, or Copilot Studio drive the browser: how they differ, five criteria, cost per run, and cautions.
- Is RPA dead? Why it spread, and what AI changesIs RPA dead? Why RPA spread in Japan from 2017, why its growth stalled, today's market and adoption numbers, and what AI changes and what it doesn't.
- Building AI agents in-house: outsourcing, FDE, or AI + RPAAI agents keep needing fixes as models retire and screens change. Outsourcing, FDEs, in-house engineers, and staff building with AI, compared by fix speed.
- AI call centers and core systems: automating after-call workAI answers and summarizes calls, but entry into core systems with no API stays manual. How to receive call results, enter them, place checks, and run on VMs.
- Integrating AI with legacy systems: challenges and optionsSix challenges in connecting AI to core systems with no API, and four ways to connect them: API, files, the database, and screens. Plus the order to choose in.
- 7 things to check before adopting AI agents for businessBefore putting AI agents into daily work, check seven things, from approvals and passwords to prompt injection. Plus how to split the work with RPA and people.
- AI agents vs RPA: when to use which, step by stepSplit AI agents and RPA by step, not by process: how they differ, six criteria for deciding, an invoice example, three ways to combine them, and a third option.
- What outsourcing automation costs: hand-off vs guidedOutsourcing automation in Japan, three ways: hand it off, build in-house with guidance, or buy a tool. The cost gap opens after launch. Who each suits.
- Scheduling Power Automate Desktop on the free versionCan Power Automate Desktop's free version run a flow at a set time? Microsoft's documentation answers it; the options, their licenses and costs compared.
- Collecting orders from each customer's Web-EDI in one listAutomating the morning round of customers' Web-EDI sites into one order list, with a recorded run: how each kind of sign-in is handled, and when not to.
- Taking over an RPA bot whose builder has leftAn RPA bot's builder has left and nobody understands it. How to take it over without stopping it, decide its fate, and keep a ledger and handover notes.
- How to build a robot ledger for RPA, with a templateHow to build a robot ledger that prevents rogue bots: 15 columns chosen from FISC's items, when to update them, rules that keep it alive, and an Excel template.
- What RPA costs to keep running, beyond licensesWhat RPA costs beyond licenses: fixing bots, manual work while they are down, and rework at end of support. How to total it, and recent vendor price changes.
- Check the terms before you automate a websiteWhy and how to check that a web service's terms allow automated access before you automate work with RPA or AI, with REINS, shipping, and job board cases.
- RPA migration steps: from inventory to cutoverHow to migrate RPA bots without stopping work: inventory, priorities by how often bots stop, the rebuild, PoC criteria, parallel runs, and cutover.
- Why RPA bots break when screens changeWhy RPA bots stop when web system screens change: five causes, and how to design automation that stops less often and can be fixed when it does.