Many users of AOL's AIM instant messaging client found some new "friends" when they logged in today: AOL had added some chatbots to their buddy lists. The bots have
long been available to AIM members who were either very lonely or curious about a subject matter for which the bots could provide expertise (need chicken recipes? The Tyson-sponsored TysonPowerPlates bot is there to help), but today was apparently the first time that AOL decided to send them out into the world on their own. According to AOL, the first wave of bots to be deployed consists of ShoppingBuddy and Moviefone, and the company is
soliciting feedback on the rollout. So far, the bots — which have also shown up in third-party AIM-compatible clients such as Trillian and iChat — seem well-behaved; they've got their own little section in your buddy list, are easily deleted, and apparently speak only when spoken to. When you do engage them, their repartee sometimes verges on the bizarre; Advance4Comfort, the bot sponsored by AcuVue contact lenses (which isn't part of this rollout), attempts to be hip, offering comments such as "plz expand the chat window so u don't miss what i have 2 say. now i have to ask u a few quick questions. then i can tell u all about these comfy new lenses and how u can try them out." If that's the best they can do, I'll give the bots a pass for now. But if they start singing "Daisy," it'll be time to pull the plug.
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Comments
7
Subscribe to commentsDiddleNov 17th 2005 3:28AM
The two basic ones showed up on my Trillian list today and I tanked them right away.
To me this is a little bit like Sony - they're putting sh!t on our computers without asking. I read the license agreement when I signed up for AIM and it didn't say anything about that.
YourTechSupportNov 16th 2005 11:30PM
Nifty. But it's still AIM.
I hate AOL like Hitler hates.. er.. like Balmer hates Google. While this is interesting, and I might pop up via GAIM (I'm primarily a YIM user, etc, suck it.) to check this out.
Now it only AOL would make a nicer IM client.
AFDNov 16th 2005 10:53PM
"AOLYellowPages" and "ZolaOnAOL" are two interactive bots that are actually somewhat useful. Neither were automatically added to my list on AOL, so I doubt the addition of bots on AIM was done maliciously. Both of the bots mentioned above might be useful to those needing local weather or telephone and address information while using AIM on a mobile handset - or for those that like conversing w/artificially-intellegent robots =)
submachineNov 17th 2005 1:14AM
SmarterChild is the best
GeoffNov 17th 2005 5:31AM
I posted some interaction I had with the bots on my website. I had some fun with them. The fact that the Moviefone bot has Hangman and movie trivia available is the only reason I might not delete it.
Blue BalloonNov 17th 2005 5:36PM
Nothing happen when you use iChat. Wee.
CatonicNov 17th 2005 1:55PM
Shoot, they already have flash-based advertisements. I *hate* sitting there doing stuff trying to figure out where the noise is coming from, just to find out it's a flash ad that someone has paid AOL to push out to a million desktops. At that exact moment, I want to destroy my computer. Just who the hell do they think they are? I can deal with the ad-pane, I close it when the program opens.... but playing ads out of my speakers is just intrusive.