Here's a mini Proxy Bidding FAQ that may answer some of your questions about those pesky proxy robots. Proxy means an agent authorized to act in your place.
Robot means a device that acts automatically.
So, a proxy robot is an automated agent that will bid on your behalf. In the simplest terms, a proxy robot will bid as little as it can to outbid new competition, up to the maximum bid for which it is programmed. You program your robot by specifying an optional maximum bid on the bid form. The proxy robot still must bid in essentially the same way a human agent would bid for you, so that means that the proxy robot must outbid new bids with a higher bid the same way you would if you were bidding without a proxy agent. Your proxy robot is not authorized to bid any higher, so you lose.