Series 6 – Cognitive Automation Welcome to Part 6 of the Business Systems blog series – ‘An Insider’s Guide to Robotic Process Automation’. In this series: Cognitive Automation AI-Based Automated Customer Engagement AI & Process Automation Exception Handling It’s a wrap Cognitive Automation Series 2 talked about two different types of automation: Unattended: automates an entire routine process with no human intervention needed Attended: used for complex scenarios where parts of the process are handled by the robot and other parts that require human decision-making are left to the employee. Let’s add another – Cognitive automation. According to Deloitte, cognitive automation is a subset of artificial intelligence technologies that mimic human behaviour: “RPA together with cognitive technologies such as speech recognition and natural language processing automate perceptual and judgment-based tasks once reserved for humans.” In short – Cognitive Automation is process automation enhanced by Artificial intelligence (AI). AI-Based Automated Customer Engagement So how does AI play its part in customer engagement? AI based automated customer engagement are tools that interact with customers and are informed by AI. Here are some examples you will have come across: Virtual Agent: lifelike customer service interactions between a customer and an information system Visual IVR: easy to navigate visual menus on the customer’s smartphones or computers Chat bots: lets the customer feel like they are instant messaging with a human rep, but in reality are dealing with a robot Automated mails: AI-based automations can be triggered by ‘events’ that suggest it’s time to send an email Dynamic Interactive voice response: adjusts the IVR logic system for repeat callers in a way that anticipates where they will need to go in terms of ‘press 1’ or ‘press 3’ options Thought: Some Cognitive automation can work hand in hand with these tools such as chat bots, voice bots, and virtual agents for a more personalised, efficient and automated customer engagement. AI and Process Automation Artificial Intelligence working alongside Robotic Process Automation brings many benefits in different ways. Let’s take a look at a couple: Decision Making: Artificial Intelligence enables predictive analytics specifically for decision making. This means the automation is able to make ‘human-like’ judgement calls. Data: Artificial Intelligence can transform data from unstructured (such as documents and emails) into structured context which can then be used by the bot in an automation flow. Continuous Improvement: Artificial Intelligence is constantly learning. The automation process is continually expanding capabilities, learning and improving processes. Thought: Artificial Intelligence is constantly evolving. On the artificial intelligence horizon, cognitive decision making will soon make an appearance. Cognitive decision making uses AI to automate processes which require decision-making skills. Exception Handling As we know, Robotic Process Automation takes rules-based processes and creates ways for the machine rather than the human employee to do work. However, RPA does come across it’s exceptions during processes. Here are some of the ‘bumps in the road’ and business exceptions that an automation process may come across: missing information (email address or address) issues with data integrity or consistency invalid information (faulty email address or wrong formatted date) And here are some of the Technical exceptions: ‘old’ screens that are left open and should have been closed Connectivity failures with application updates Slow response times on the network or internet With attended automaton, exception handling is common, and is an issue which can be smoothed out. This is where Cognitive Automation comes in, where through machine learning it picks up the different ways to handle exceptions, without the need for human intervention. Robotic Process Automation becomes more streamlined and powerful within your organisation as the technology learns new skills in handling situations that don’t conform to the standard rules. With technologies such as text analytics and natural language processing, a robot can understand free text and even gain an understanding of intent and sentiment of the individual who created the free text. Cognitive Automation also powers up different departments. E.g. in the accounts department, it will be able to utilise the existing invoice system and use machine learning capabilities to complete the stacks of invoices which used to be a labour intensive manual process. Exceptions to the process will be smoothed out the longer the robot becomes more familiar with the process. Dynamic Interactive voice response: adjusts the IVR logic system for repeat callers in a way that anticipates where they will need to go in terms of ‘press 1’ or ‘press 3’ options Thought: In today’s world, more interactions happening via free text forms, emails, text messages etc. are plentiful. The ability of Robotic Process Automation to now identify and extract the relevant information out of free text and turn it into structured data is a key component of the technology. It’s a wrap RPA helps you better achieve your organisations goals with automation. Adding AI and cognitive automation allows for advanced automation opportunities, expanding the boundaries across dynamic decision-driven processes, learning from exception handling and growing into an independent process not limited by exception handling, but rather getting stronger and stronger through powerful machine learning. Keep tuned for series 7, our final part of the in the Insider’s Guide to Robotic Process Automation – ’10 things to know about Robotic Process Automation’. Written by: Business Systems UK
Blog 22 July, 2026 The Cost of Attrition: Why Workforce Engagement Management is a Self-Funding Strategy Contact centre attrition remains one of the most expensive challenges facing customer support leaders. CX Today reports annual turnover rates of 35-45% remain common across the industry, with each departure costing between £10,000 and £15,000 in recruitment, onboarding and lost productivity. For a 200-seat operation, that equates to roughly £700,000-£1.35 million in annual attrition costs
Blog 30 April, 2026 Customer Experience Tools: How to Choose (and Implement) the Right CX Platform for Your Business Choosing the right customer experience platform is a major decision for many businesses. The platform you choose shapes how customers interact with your business across every channel, determines what insights you can extract from those customer interactions, and influences whether or not your teams can deliver consistently excellent service. Yet many organisations approach this decision
Blog 16 April, 2026 Conversational AI in UK Contact Centres: Moving Beyond Basic Chatbots Many contact centres in the UK have implemented chatbot technology in some form or another, but with varying degrees of success. Recent industry research reveals that nearly 70% of customers become frustrated with chatbots and prefer speaking to human agents, and abandonment rates for basic chatbot interactions continue to remain stubbornly high. The problem isn’t
Blog 10 April, 2026 Proactive Customer Service: How Contact Centres Can Use Proactive AI to Anticipate Customer Needs The traditional model of customer service is almost entirely reactive: a customer discovers a problem, contacts your organisation, and waits for a solution. This approach places the burden squarely on the customer, requiring them to identify issues, navigate your contact channels, and often endure multiple interactions before their problem is solved. Proactive customer service powered
Blog 29 January, 2026 Microsoft Teams Recording Without the Risk: A Practical Guide for Regulated Organisations Microsoft Teams has become the backbone of collaboration across financial services, insurance, the public sector and other regulated industries. Trading conversations, client discussions, internal decisions and approvals are now happening daily across voice, video, chat and shared files. That shift brings opportunity, but it also introduces risk. For organisations operating under regulations such as FCA,
Blog 5 December, 2025 The clock is ticking: Why end-of-life recording systems are a critical compliance risk Outdated recording technology isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s a ticking time bomb for regulated firms. For financial services and other heavily regulated industries, end-of-life (EoL) voice recording systems can create dangerous blind spots. When vendors withdraw support, these unsupported platforms become vulnerable, exposing your firm to major compliance penalties under frameworks like MiFID II, FCA,
Blog 20 November, 2025 Proactive AI vs Reactive AI: Understanding the Difference Artificial intelligence is changing the way organisations across the UK engage with customers, but all AI solutions aren’t created equal. Many still rely on reactive models that respond only once a customer makes contact. Proactive AI takes a more advanced approach, identifying needs and acting before the customer does. Understanding the key differences between proactive
Blog 20 November, 2025 5 Ways Proactive AI Can Reduce Manual Workload in Contact Centres Contact centres today face a familiar challenge: maintaining exceptional service while managing high volumes, rising costs, and limited resources. Agents are spending valuable time on repetitive, manual work instead of focusing on complex, high-value interactions that truly build customer loyalty. This is where Proactive AI makes a measurable difference. By combining automation with intelligence, it