A Bot is a piece of software that runs scripts, i.e., automated tasks online. We also refer to it as a web robot, robot, or Internet bot. Most bots perform both structurally repetitive and simple tasks. They function at a significantly faster rate than any human could.
Web crawlers, i.e., scripts that automatically retrieve, analyze, and archive data online from web servers are bots. We often refer to them as web spiders. Bots represent more than fifty percent of all online traffic.
A bot can be good or bad
We refer to useful bots as good ones. They include, for example, search engine web crawlers that index content for online users who carry out searches.
Customer service bots are also useful because they help customers, prospects, and other consumers sort out problems or find answers to questions. A prospect is somebody that a company believes could well turn into a paying customer.
These bots also enhance digital accessibility, enabling users with disabilities to navigate and utilize web services more effectively.
Furthermore, these beneficial bots enable businesses to scale their operations efficiently by automating repetitive tasks, allowing human employees to focus on more complex issues.
Some bots are software applications that programmers have created to break into people’s accounts, i.e., they are online automated hacking robots. Others search the web for contact data that can be used for sending spam.
Spam or online junk mail refers to mass online mailings that are sent to thousands and even millions of individuals simultaneously. They are unsolicited messages, i.e., the receivers never asked for them.
Chatbots
There is a type of good online software that chats with people. We call them chatbots, talkbots, or chatterbots. They are algorithms that programmers have created to simulate a human in a conversation. Virtual assistant software programs today, such as Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant, have chatbot technology.
Video game bots
This software application can take the place of a player in a video game. The software has AI. AI stands for artificial intelligence; i.e., software technology that makes smart devices such as computers or robots think and behave like us (human beings).
Socialbots
Socialbots function in social media websites. Programmers created them to give your website visibility and drive engagement. Companies use them as part of their digital marketing campaigns. Unlike crawlers and other types of bots, socialbots spread by convincing us that they are real people.
They are neither good nor malicious bots. Many people believe that they are unethical. The whole point of a social media platform, they say, is to connect to other human beings, not software programs.
Socialbots are more common in Twitter than Facebook and other social networking websites. It is relatively easier to create a socialbot that appears human in an environment with very short messages (microblogs) rather than long ones.
Compound phrases with ‘bot’
From the root word ‘bot,’ we can make many compound words and phrases. Lets have a look at give common ones.
“Cybersecurity firms are constantly devising new defenses against ‘botnets’ that launch denial-of-service attacks.”
“The website implemented a ‘bot manager’ to ensure that harmful bots are blocked while allowing search engine bots to crawl its content.”
“The company’s ‘feedback bot’ collects customer reviews to improve the service quality.”
“I used a ‘shopping bot’ to find the best prices for my holiday gift purchases.”
“Authorities discovered a ‘bot farm’ that was responsible for generating millions of fake views on video streaming platforms.”