Google makes business process tool AppSheet Automation generally available

Last year, Google launched AppSheet Automation, an “intent-driven” experience in Google Cloud powered by AI that enabled enterprises to connect to a number of data sources to model automated business processes. After several months in early access, Google today announced that AppSheet Automation is generally available with new capabilities, including document processing, a monitoring app, and expanded eventing support.

According to Forrester, while automation has been a major force reshaping work since before the pandemic, it’s taking on a new urgency in the context of business risk and resilience. A McKinsey survey found that at least a third of activities could be automated in about 60% of occupations. And in its recent Trends in Workflow Automation report, Salesforce reported that 95% of IT leaders are prioritizing workflow automation, with 70% seeing the equivalent of more than 4 hours saved each week per employee.

AppSheet Automation, which arose from Google’s acquisition of AppSheet in July 2020, is an AI-enabled, no-code development platform designed to help automate existing business processes. The service offers an environment for building custom apps and pipelines, delivering governance capabilities and leveraging AI to understand goals and construct process artifacts.

One new feature in AppSheet Automation, Intelligent Document Processing, automatically extracts text from unstructured files like invoices and W-9s to eliminate the need for manual entry. Another, a monitoring app, allows customers to build AppSheet apps that can then monitor their automations.

Google also extended AppSheet Automation’s data source eventing, which previously supported Salesforce, to include Google Workspace Sheets and Drive in the general release. Looking ahead, the company says it’s building the ability to embed rich AppSheet views in Gmail to enable users to perform approvals on the go.

“Digital transformation has been an enterprise priority for years, but recent Google Cloud research reinforces that the mandate is more pressing today than ever, with most companies increasing their technology investments over the last year,” Prithpal Bhogill, product manager on AppSheet’s business application platform, wrote in a blog post. “While there are many dependencies shaping the future of work, the challenge is to leverage technology to support shifting work cultures. Automation is the rallying point for this goal.”

The launch of AppSheet Automation follows news that Google will collaborate with robotic process automation (RPA) startup Automation Anywhere to accelerate the adoption of RPA with enterprises “on a global scale.” As a part of its agreement with Automation Anywhere, Google plans to integrate the former company’s RPA technologies, including low- and no-code development tools, AI workflow builders, and API management, with Google Cloud services like Apigee, AppSheet, and AI Platform. Automation Anywhere and Google said they’ll also jointly develop solutions geared toward industry-specific use cases, with a focus on financial services, supply chains, health care and life sciences, telecommunications, retail, and the public sector.