bot
<networking, chat, World-Wide Web> (From "robot") Any type of autonomous
software that operates as an agent for a user or a program or simulates a human
activity. On the Internet, the most popular bots are programs (called spiders or
crawlers) used for searching. They access web sites, retrieve documents and
follow all the hyperlinks in them; then they generate catalogs that are accessed
by search engines.
A chatbot converses with humans (or other bots). A shopbot searches the Web to
find the best price for a product. Other bots (such as OpenSesame) observe a
user's patterns in navigating a website and customises the site for that user.
Knowbots collect specific information from websites.
(1999-05-20)
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