Intelligent automation is based on artificial intelligence (AI) while keeping humans in the loop. Indeed, the re-engineering of processes and their optimization don’t necessarily imply the replacement of human operators by machines. Instead, we argue that intelligent automation will increasingly involve smart orchestration of tasks between machines and humans to reach the operational excellence expected by our clients.

Such orchestration will be itself governed by a less-known use of AI acting like an invisible hand. We illustrate this idea with a real-world case from a French insurance company.