A Business Outlook regarding Electronic Agents
Solana Gonzalo · International Journal of Law and Information Technology · 2001
Electronic agents are much more efficient than traditional software. Their ability of rapidly searching information through the World Wide Web, assisting users in desktop work and carrying out surveillance activities is extremely useful for Internet users. It is, however, in the area of e‐commerce that these agents are more particularly successful as the two existing generations of shopbots aim to assist both buyers and sellers in the purchasing process. Even if electronic agents need to overcome various obstacles to become widely accepted, the advantages they offer and their potential explain why many big companies as well as start‐ups, universities and research centres have been and are still working on the development of this new technology and make money from it. The market of electronic agents is, since their appearance, widely dominated by the U.S., while Europe and Japan follow the trend in a more limited way.