Assessing the impact of internet agent on end users' performance

Intelligent software agents that can perform tasks on the user's behalf independently of direct control of the user themselves, promise to revolutionize the way in which we use the Internet to conduct business. Research on how these agents will change the nature of Internet-based e-commerce and what its impact will be on consumers and businesses is only just beginning. To assess the impact of agent usage in a retail online shopping environment, an empirical study was conducted to determine what impact, if any, the use of Shopbots, a form of Internet agent, had on consumers looking to purchase a DVD player online via the World Wide Web. Of particular interest was the Internet agent's impact on the user's task performance and task outcomes. These included the time spent on shopping activities, the shopper's confidence in their purchase decision, the quality of the purchase decision made by the shopper and the amount of cognitive effort required to select a product for purchase.