Robotic process automation wave (2015–2022)
Vendors like UiPath and Blue Prism promised to automate business workflows by recording and replaying human clicks. Enterprises deployed thousands of software bots to handle tasks such as data entry and invoice processing.
Bots performed narrow, repetitive tasks, but many proved brittle. When underlying systems changed, bots broke and required manual upkeep, creating what the industry called bot sprawl.
The standalone RPA market consolidated as companies demanded automation that could learn and adapt rather than replay fixed steps.
AI Workflow Factory is ServiceNow's answer to RPA's maintenance problem: autonomous agents that build, deploy, and refine workflows in a continuous loop instead of fixed bots.
