Beyond the world of physical robots, automation has already begun to change the way that many offices work. So-called Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software is increasingly taking over the structured, repetitive, high-volume processes that are at the heart of almost every business. One early adopter was banking and financial services company BNY Mellon, which has reported an 88% improvement in processing time as a result. RPA is, in turn, likely to be replaced by Intelligent Process Automation, which adds machine learning into the mix, allowing it to improve on processes designed by humans. Financial research firm Autonomous examined all of the potential applications of AI across the front, middle and back offices of banks, investment managers and insurance companies globally and identified a cost saving of almost 20%. Overall, AI has been shown to make banks more efficient and more helpful, while enabling them to understand their customers better.