Softbot

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A computer program that carries out tasks on its own for a user, such as searching, gathering information or running routine operations
2. An autonomous software agent that performs assigned jobs without constant human direction, often on networks or the internet
3. A piece of software designed to act independently on behalf of a person or system, handling repetitive or information-based tasks

Etymology: "Softbot" is a compound built from "software" and "-bot," with the "-bot" element itself a clipping of "robot." The word is a plain technical coinage, so its interest lies in how the two parts combine. "Software" in its computing sense is the set of programs that run on a machine, as opposed to the hardware it runs on. Attaching "-bot" to it suggests a robot made of code rather than metal: an automated program that carries out tasks on a computer or network without a human directing each step. The "-bot" element carries the connotation of machinery acting on its own, which is why it has been attached to many new coinages in computing. "Softbot" is therefore best understood as a software robot, a term describing an automated agent defined by its nature as a program rather than by any physical form.

Synonyms: bot, software agent