The type of information retrieved varies depending on the program used. In essence, businesses can tailor the type of information customers see when they log on to a web page based upon the customer's web profile. When a business server delivers a web page to a user, it can place a cookie onto the user's hard drive. This file contains a unique user name that the web site assigns. The next time, a customer accesses the web page, the server will look for the cookie to provide information about your computer.
Cookies allow a business web site to tailor information that the customer sees.
It can also reduce repetitive data entry. For example, customers can eliminate the need to type their password each time they visit the site. Agent software is used to customize the retrieval of information by category or topic. The software can operate 24 hours a day to monitor breaking developments on a specific topic. Agent software can be used in conjunction with search engines, but can also used as a filter with any kind of database using user-defined criteria.