AI agents automate complex tasks beyond RPA's reach, say Japanese firms

Key takeaway

• AI agents—software systems that autonomously plan and execute multi-step tasks—are entering mainstream use in Japan. Unlike simpler generative AI or chatbots, agents can handle judgment calls and adapt to unexpected situations, making them suited for customer support, equipment repair diagnostics, and financial processing.

• Daikin and Hitachi are testing factory diagnostics agents; JAL has deployed agents across 56 airports; LINE Yahoo's tests showed agents can handle over 300,000 inquiries monthly.

• The approach works best when paired with careful pilots, human oversight, and security controls—not as a wholesale RPA replacement.

3 Key Points

FAQ

How does an AI agent differ from generative AI like ChatGPT?

Generative AI answers one question at a time. An AI agent receives a goal, makes its own plan, calls multiple tools or AI systems in sequence, and completes a full task without human intervention—for example, extracting expense data, categorizing it, and generating a monthly report all on its own.

What kind of work can AI agents do today?

Customer support (checking order history, providing personalized replies), sales research (gathering company news and drafting emails), invoice processing (reading documents, categorizing charges, entering data into accounting systems), meeting transcription and task assignment, and weekly or monthly report generation from multiple data sources.

Should we replace RPA with AI agents?

No. RPA excels at rule-based repetitive work; AI agents handle judgment-heavy tasks. The best approach is to combine them—let the AI agent decide what to do, then have RPA handle the system input work. This broadens automation scope without discarding existing RPA investments.