Seventy nine percent of business and IT leaders believe that generative AI will improve process automation efficiency by more than 25%, according to a survey commissioned by Pipefy, a developer of process automation solutions. More than one third (34%) of survey respondents anticipate efficiency gains of more than 50% when generative AI is applied to process automation.

Not only do 73% of business executives say their organization currently has AI initiatives in play, but they believe that applying generative AI to process automation will deliver these outcomes:
- 53% anticipate better use of employee time
- 51% plan to benefit from a competitive advantage
- 50% expect to improve operational efficiency
- 47% anticipate faster access to data analytics

Business and IT leaders adopt process and workflow automation solutions for a variety of reasons. According to the survey, the key drivers for adoption of process automation include:
-74% are seeking to increase efficiency
-73% want to improve productivity
-55% are looking for ways to reduce errors

In addition, business and IT leaders cited the top benefits of adopting process automation solutions as:
- 59% better data and decision making
- 57% have improved agility
- 57% have realized cost savings

“Businesses today are tasked with the challenge of increasing efficiency in all areas of their business, and when you combine generative AI and process automation into one solution, it delivers major efficiency and productivity benefits to businesses,” said Alessio Alionco, CEO and Founder of Pipefy.

While many organizations are putting process automation solutions to use, some respondents indicated that the challenges to implementing process automation solutions include limited IT bandwidth (34%) and tech stack complexity (30%). In fact, more than half of all respondents (51%) rely on tech stacks that are made up of at least 100 apps, systems and databases.

When evaluating process and workflow automation solutions, survey respondents ranked these as the top criteria:
- 75% indicated security is the single most important criteria
- 64% cited the solution’s’ ability to integrate easily
- 61% ranked ease of use
- 56% want the ability to implement quickly

The survey was conducted in August, 2023, with 160 respondents, including business leaders, managers and executives in the IT, healthcare, finance and other sectors. All of the respondents worked at companies with 500 or more employees.