The repetitive behavior of a single user is particularly suitable for agent-based automation when this repetitive behavior is dissimilar across the general user population. This situation makes it very hard to come up with a design compromise that would suit the whole population. On servers, similar behavior of a group of users can benefit from agent automation. The personal and workgroup productivity benefits of agent automation can be significant. The customization benefits can be discussed by noting where the agent model fits into the traditional broadcast and publishing models.
Users sample the information within the inherent time constraints to make choices.
In such a model, an agent between a user and broadcasters can provide customization benefits by listening to the information broadcast on behalf of the user, finding relevant information matching the user's interests, and presenting the filtered information to the user. There are three basic architecture choices in the implementation of such a model. These agents can be implemented either at the broadcast site or at the user end or in the middle as a broker agent that serves multiple broadcasters and users. In such a model, an agent can provide customization benefits by searching information on behalf of the user, and providing the user with the relevant information matching the user's interests. The emergence of the Web as a mainstream business environment makes a compelling case for the use of software agents.