Definition: Software Agent

By Jack Krupansky

A software agent (or autonomous agent or intelligent agent) is a computer program which works toward goals (as opposed to discrete tasks) in a dynamic environment (where change is the norm) on behalf of another entity (human or computational), possibly over an extended period of time, without continuous direct supervision or control, and exhibits a significant degree of flexibility and even creativity in how it seeks to transform goals into action tasks.

A software agent is a computer program which runs on an agent interaction machine, and hence supports a defined agent interaction language.

A software agent is either an autonomous software agent or a component of a multi-agent system.

Click here for a more in-depth discussion of what it means to be a software agent.

See the Wikipedia article for "Software Agent".

Singular of software agents.

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Updated: December 23, 2005 12:31:18 PM -0500

Copyright © 2005 John W. Krupansky d/b/a Base Technology