What is Attended Automation?
Attended Automation (also known as Human-in-the-Loop Automation) is a type of RPA where software bots work alongside humans on their desktop, triggered by user actions to assist with tasks in real-time. Unlike unattended automation, attended bots require human interaction and cannot run independently.
How Attended Automation Works
Attended bots run on the employee's workstation and are activated through various triggers:
- Hotkey or keyboard shortcut
- Click of a button in an application
- Specific event detection (e.g., new email, window open)
- Right-click context menu
- Manual activation from a bot tray
Example Use Case
A customer service agent receives a call. With one click, the attended bot pulls up the customer's complete profile from multiple systems (CRM, billing, order history), summarizes recent interactions, and pre-fills response templates - reducing average handle time by 40%.
Benefits of Attended Automation
Key Benefits
- Increased Productivity - Employees complete tasks faster with bot assistance
- Reduced Errors - Bots handle data entry and lookups accurately
- Better Customer Experience - Faster response times and access to complete information
- Employee Empowerment - Workers control when and how bots assist
- Human Judgment - Humans handle exceptions and complex decisions
- Quick Implementation - Often simpler to deploy than unattended bots
Common Use Cases
- Customer Service: Data lookup, form filling, ticket creation
- Sales: Quote generation, CRM updates, proposal creation
- IT Help Desk: Password resets, system checks, ticket routing
- Finance: Data validation, compliance checks, report generation
- Healthcare: Patient record retrieval, insurance verification
Attended vs Unattended Automation
The choice between attended and unattended automation depends on the process characteristics:
- Attended: Best for front-office, customer-facing tasks requiring human judgment
- Unattended: Best for back-office, high-volume, rule-based processes
- Many organizations use both types as part of a comprehensive automation strategy
BOTFORCE Discovery
Find Your Attended Automation Opportunities
Use BOTFORCE Discovery to identify which processes in your organization would benefit from attended automation. Calculate ROI and prioritize your automation roadmap.
Start Free Assessment or calculate your ROI first →