Robotic process automation (RPA) market poised for rapid growth as generative AI integration takes hold

PEX Network’s key takeaways:

• The robotic process automation (RPA) market is poised for rapid growth in the next few years.
• The integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI) into RPA platforms is expanding business capabilities, enabling automation of unstructured processes.
• Vendor competition in the RPA market is intensifying through AI-focused acquisitions.

The robotic process automation (RPA) market is poised for rapid growth driven by the integration of generative AI capabilities. 

The RPA market is projected to grow from US$8.12 billion in 2026 to an estimated $28.6 billion by 2031, according to a Research and Markets report.

The integration of generative AI into RPA platforms is expanding business capabilities, enabling automation of unstructured processes, the report found. Cloud-native deployments are further fueling market growth by enhancing cost-efficiency and reducing deployment times.

The PEX Report 2025/26 found that a quarter (25 percent) of surveyed organizations use RPA to support business transformation. Meanwhile, 17 percent are planning to increase RPA investment in the next year.

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RPA market poised for rapid growth

Vendor competition in the RPA market is intensifying through AI-focused acquisitions and partnerships that bundle intelligent document processing (IDP), low-code design, and autonomous agent capabilities into platform roadmaps.

On-premise installations remain dominant at 53.62 percent of the RPA market, while cloud deployments post the highest CAGR (36.95 percent) and will narrow the gap as security certifications expand, according to Research and Markets.

Software platforms controlled 51.05 percent of revenue in 2025, but services are expanding at a 34.1 percent CAGR as organizations recognize that people-centric change management dictates success.

North America, with a 39.12 percent market share in 2025, leads the RPA market due to advanced adoption and regulatory demands. The region benefits from a strong network of system integrators and skilled professionals.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) is witnessing rapid growth, driven by a strong governmental support infrastructure and demand among smaller organizations amid labor market constraints. Europe’s market is guided by regulatory frameworks such as the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), encouraging investments to document and stress-test automated workflows.

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What trends are shaping the RPA market?

The Research and Markets report identified several key trends shaping the modern RPA market:

• Retail omni-channel order-fulfilment automation: Retailers are automating inventory reconciliation, shipment orchestration, and return management to keep pace with real-time consumer expectations
• Small- and medium-sized enterprise adoption of cloud-native RPA platforms: Consumption-based SaaS models are lowering entry barriers for small firms. SMEs can deploy secure bots within days and scale licenses only when transaction volumes rise.
• Persistent bot breakage from user interface changes: Frequent interface updates in enterprise and SaaS apps disrupt selectors and render bots inoperable, consuming up to 40 percent of annual automation budgets for reactive maintenance.

Other drivers and restraints analyzed in the report include:

• Generative AI-powered bot design assistants.
• Pay-as-you-go bots on hyperscale marketplaces.
• Governance and ethical scrutiny of unattended bots.

All Access: Future of BPM 2026

You asked, and we listened. Business process management (BPM) remains the cornerstone technology for driving organizational transformation, according to the survey results featured in the latest PEX Report. As we look toward 2026 and beyond, generative AI, agentic AI, and intelligent process orchestration are redefining how processes are designed, executed, and optimized. BPM is your key to adapting swiftly and effectively in this new era.

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