Agentic AI vs RPA: The Next Automation Revolution

# Pseudocode: typical RPA bot
def process_invoice_rpa(path):
    click_element("#erp-app-icon")
    type_into("#username", "bot_user")
    click_element("#login-button")
    click_element("#menu-finance")
    click_element("#upload-invoice-btn")   # Breaks if this selector changes
    upload_file("#file-input", path)
    click_element("#submit-btn")
    # Problem: rename the button and the entire workflow breaks.
    # The bot has NO understanding -- only pixel positions and selectors.

from anthropic import Anthropic
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
import base64

client = Anthropic()

def process_invoice_agent(invoice_path: str):
    with sync_playwright() as p:
        browser = p.chromium.launch(headless=False)
        page = browser.new_page()
        page.goto("https://your-erp.com")

        while True:
            # Agent SEES the screen as a screenshot
            screenshot_bytes = page.screenshot()
            screenshot_b64 = base64.b64encode(screenshot_bytes).decode()

            response = client.messages.create(
                model="claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
                max_tokens=500,
                messages=[{
                    "role": "user",
                    "content": [
                        {"type": "image", "source": {
                            "type": "base64",
                            "media_type": "image/png",
                            "data": screenshot_b64
                        }},
                        {"type": "text", "text":
                            f"Upload invoice {invoice_path} to Accounts Payable. "
                            "Tell me what to click or type next. If done, say COMPLETE."}
                    ]
                }]
            )

            action = response.content[0].text
            if "COMPLETE" in action:
                break
            # Execute whatever action the agent decided
            execute_action(page, action)
        
        browser.close()

# Key difference: If "Submit" is renamed "Approve", the agent finds it anyway.
# It understands the goal -- not just the selectors.