Software agent

In computer science, a software agent is a computer program that acts for a user or other program in a relationship of agency.

Such "action on behalf of" implies the authority to decide which, if any, action is appropriate.

Related and derived concepts include:

• Intelligent agents (in particular exhibiting some aspect of artificial intelligence, such as learning and reasoning)
• Autonomous agents (capable of modifying the way in which they achieve their objectives)
• Distributed agents (being executed on physically distinct computers)
• Multi-agent systems (distributed agents that do not have the capabilities to achieve an objective alone and thus must communicate)
• Mobile agents (agents that can relocate their execution onto different processors)

• Agency
• Computer program
• Computer science
• User (computing)
• User agent

Etymology

The word agency derives from the Latin agere (to do): an agreement to act on one's behalf.

External links

• Software agent @ Wikipedia