ORking, chat, WORld-Wide Web> (From "robot") Any type of autonomous software that operates as an agent fOR a user OR a programOR simulates a human activity. On the Internet, the most popular bots are programs (called spidersOR 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)