Machine learning, AI, and automation are all blurred lines. Pretending that isn't the case is naive.
I invest in software companies for a living. I've spent a huge amount of time on this. Take a look at UiPath as I suggested in another comment. The market decided that they are just what you're describing. ML, not AI. Never mind that they have been hosting an AI conference since 2017 (!). The CEO of PATH (and just about every other expert) will describe ML as a subset of AI. Not distinct.