Comparison shopping agent

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Comparison-Shopping agents, also called shopbots, are Web software applications that can help online shoppers find lower price for commodities or services. Price comparison services was the earliest service a comparison-shopping agent provides. To search the price of a particular item, a comparison-shopping agent would search multiple online stores based on the keyword the online shopper provides. The keyword could be an ISBN number of a book or something like "iPod."

The first widely recognized comparison-shopping agent was BargainFinder developed by then Andersen Consulting and its SmartStore center.