Accenture adopts more than 450 AI agents to automate processes

Accenture has adopted more than 450 artificial intelligence (AI) agents from Pipefy to automate processes, driving a 60 percent increase in efficiency.

AI-enhanced automations are streamlining activities such as checking and validating documents, synchronizing form fields, standardizing due dates, executive summaries, calculation assistance and updating processing times. 

AI agents are driving a fundamental shift – moving from task-based automation to intelligent automation with adaptive workflows that drive business outcomes by enhancing the agility of operations.

Developing AI use cases for efficiency and innovation

With a partnership that began in 2016, Accenture and Pipefy are developing AI use cases that bring efficiency and innovation, the firms stated. These initiatives are part of Accenture's integrated ecosystem solutions, with the firm also able to reuse 70 percent of the solutions created for its clients, supporting business scalability.

“Accenture has expertise in the generative AI ecosystem, which includes AI Refinery, GenWizard and Synops IOGA to build advanced orchestrators, where we use, for example, Pipefy’s platform,” said Fabiano Guastella, generative AI digital transformation and innovation director at Accenture.

Accenture takes advantage of Pipefy’s more complex functionalities integrated with its various technology partners and clients’ systems to take innovation to the next level, offering integrated generative AI to all current and future clients, Guastella added. “This initiative transforms processes in an intelligent and disruptive way, consolidating our leadership position in the market.” 

Register for All Access: AI in PEX 2025 to explore integrating AI into process improvement initiatives

Inside the AI agents 

With workflows in companies challenged by bureaucratic and manual processes, AI agents change the scenario by implementing advanced technology. The AI agents ensure that approvals and processes are executed automatically and also are standardized to help eliminate human error, according to a press release.

The AI agents offer an intuitive interface, recommending agents and automations for each type of activity. They support large volumes of work and deliver results more quickly, without the need for an IT team for implementation. 

Alessio Alionço, founder and CEO of Pipefy, said the partnership with Accenture solidifies Pipefy’s position as a leader in intelligent automation. “Together, we are pushing AI to do real work – automating critical processes, eliminating bottlenecks and boosting operational efficiency. With Accenture’s expertise and Pipefy’s technology, AI Agents are moving from being a concept to becoming the foundation of more agile and intelligent operations.”

Fully autonomous AI agents “should not be deployed”

Despite the hype and excitement surrounding the potential of AI agents to drive unprecedented business value, researchers have warned that “fully autonomous AI agents” should not be developed due to inherent risks.

“We find no clear benefit of fully autonomous AI agents, but many foreseeable harms from ceding full human control,” they wrote in a recently published paper. “Our analysis reveals that risks to people increase with the autonomy of a system.”

The more control a user cedes to an AI agent, the more risks to people arise, according to the researchers. Particularly concerning are safety risks, which affect human life and impact further values.

“While increased autonomy can offer genuine benefits in specific contexts, human judgment and contextual understanding remain essential, particularly for high-stakes decisions,” the researchers concluded. “The ability to access the environments an AI agent is operating in is essential, providing humans with the ability to say ‘no’ when a system’s autonomy drives it well away from human values and goals.”

PEX Report 2024 global state of process excellence

PEX Network's annual report reveals the current state and future trends of process excellence. Based on a study profiling hundreds of global process excellence leaders, the report provides insights on how to leverage innovation, generative AI, and process intelligence to achieve operational excellence, customer-centricity, and organizational growth. Download your copy of the PEX Report 2024/2025 today and benchmark your process excellence journey against your peers.

Download Now