12/1/2025 · 6 min

AI agents vs RPA: what to automate (and what not to)

A simple decision framework for choosing between deterministic automation and LLM-powered agents in enterprise workflows.

RPA is deterministic. Agents are probabilistic. The best enterprise solutions combine both: stable execution paths with AI where ambiguity exists.

Decision framework

  • Use deterministic automation for: approvals, transactions, integrations, SLA-critical steps.
  • Use AI for: classification, summarization, extraction, drafting, knowledge retrieval.
  • Use agents for: multi-step assistance with human oversight and strict tool permissions.

Want to apply this in your org?

We can design a pilot with RAG/automation and governance, with evaluation and clear metrics.