RPA, AI agents, scripts or an API: which fits your data entry?
Use an approved API whenever one does the job. Use RPA if you already run a platform with people to maintain it. Use an AI agent for varied, one-off tasks. OpenAdapt fits repeated entries into a system with no usable API, where each save should be read back and a mismatch should stop.
Updated 2026-10-14
At a glance
| An approved API | RPA platform | AI computer-use agent | Your own script | OpenAdapt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Any task the API covers | Many automations on one platform | Varied or one-off tasks | A developer-owned task | Repeated entries with no usable API |
| Who builds it | Developers, with the vendor | Your RPA team | Anyone who can describe the task | A developer | We build it with you |
| AI model calls per run | None | Usually none | Every step | None unless added | 0 in our recorded runs |
| Proof the record saved | The API's reply | What the builder adds | Usually the model reading the screen | What the developer adds | A second read of the record, where available |
| When it isn't sure | Returns an error | Error handling the builder sets | The model decides | What the code says | Stops and asks a person |
Why the second read matters: in our fault test, 72 of 90 runs left the record wrong. A screen-only check passed 54 of those 72. These were faults we injected on a test system.
Comparisons
OpenAdapt vs AI computer-use agents
Measured results, including the tests where the agent did as well or better.
Read the comparisonOpenAdapt vs UiPath
A mature RPA platform, and when a narrower tool fits.
Read the comparisonOpenAdapt vs Power Automate
Strong inside Microsoft 365; what happens on the last screen.
Read the comparisonAPI or screen automation?
Use the API whenever it covers the task.
Read the comparisonOpenAdapt vs browser agents
Quick web automation with a model in the loop.
Read the comparisonOpenAdapt vs record-and-replay tools
The recording is common; what happens after it differs.
Read the comparisonOpenAdapt vs hand-written scripts
Playwright, Selenium and AutoHotkey, together.
Read the comparisonOpenAdapt vs Playwright
For developer-owned browser automation.
Read the comparisonOpenAdapt vs Selenium
The standards-based browser driver.
Read the comparisonOpenAdapt vs AutoHotkey
Fast Windows macros on one machine.
Read the comparison
Questions
Is OpenAdapt RPA?
It's a kind of screen automation, like RPA, built for a narrower job: a repeated entry where the saved record is read back and a mismatch stops. It doesn't offer a platform for hundreds of automations.
Does OpenAdapt use AI?
Building and repairing a program can use a model. In every recorded run on this site, a normal run made 0 AI model calls.
Can we use OpenAdapt with our RPA platform?
Yes. Many teams keep their platform for most work and use a narrower tool for a few entries that need a read-back.
Sources
- OpenAdapt fault test, openadapt-flow benchmark/effect_e2e, 2026: faults injected into our own engine on a test record system, 90 runs; 72 left the record wrong. A screen-only check passed 54 of those 72; one separate read of the record passed 9 of the 72. These were faults we injected on a test system.
See it on your process
Bring one task your team types every day. We'll tell you whether it fits, and what a test on your own system would cover.