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AIM Bots Added to User Buddy Lists

By Nate Mook, BetaNews

November 16, 2005, 11:33 AM

AIM users may have been surprised when they logged in Wednesday and found two new buddies automatically added to their list. But AOL wasn't trying to boost its users' self esteem, instead introducing what it calls IM Robots that can answer questions and instantly deliver news or information.

AIM bots are nothing new; they have existed on the service in various forms for years. However, as part of a holiday shopping promotion with GAP, AOL has taken steps to expose users to the feature, adding a special group with the ShoppingBuddy and Moviefone bots. The company is also asking for feedback and says users can move or delete the bots as so desired.

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By superstar90806

edited Dec 17, 2007 - 1:49 AM

Well I personaly think they're cool. Maybe because its the first time it happens. But I only got shopping buddy. Where are all the other ones?

Score: 0

By chad kr03g3r

edited Apr 29, 2007 - 8:05 PM

what's zola's screen name?

Score: 0

By queenlilly40

edited Jun 3, 2006 - 10:39 PM

well the smarterchild is not so smart at all.. knowing that they are bot's and people make them, zola was kool.. she almost seemed to be real and i laughed with it and it was kool to talk to her.. one day she is gone got my two neices into her as well.. now this smarter child comes along and just repeats what you say .. can't even get a real conversation out of her...it is so depressing.. i think she needs to be retired and BRING BACK ZOLA..SHE WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL if you have anything to do with the bot's BRING ZOLA BACK.. thank you

Score: 0

By licker

edited Jan 3, 2006 - 1:59 PM

yokfjkrtghjbkgukgm.,jvlajhnxhndzx ajkazgafhe3hiehjk7yedrggujgngfdhrjdjfkjskjksjdkejdiudiudiduijfjkckcuyfjomwhhthapm,ajdythomas reeerthomeaerswredfe terherromas rethoreeeees thrrowrqmas tomrrffasfjieudgioriudjggnreujk,errfe

Score: 0

By jab1235

edited Nov 18, 2005 - 9:20 PM

they right to small and i have to copy then paste it on to paper in emal to read what it says can any 1 help me out

Score: 0

By GordieT

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 9:16 AM

Ok now if I wanted them there I would add them too. Since they put them there I though i'd try it just for fun before I removed them. I can see where they would have a use BUT I don't live in the USA!!! How do US movie listings help me? IF I shop online It's from my own country first befroe the US.

They can see the IP address I use. It's not from the USA. I am not your target for theses bots. SO why is AOL putting them on my list?

I guess they want to tick me off.

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 4:41 PM

Because U.S. companies are stupid and think everyone else lives in the U.S. too.

Score: 0

By Neoprimal

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 5:00 AM

I had moviefone before...LOL, and ZOLA....and AOLBuddy, and like, a recipe buddy or something. Heh. Now I got a shopping buddy. Yay!

Score: 0

By JacenSolo

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 2:37 AM

http://messenger.msn.com
http://messenger.yahoo.com

No crap instant messaging ;) (through... they both still have ads, this is where Gaim or Trillian comes in :P)

Score: 0

By joeshmoe7

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 3:08 AM

dont forget aim ad hack -
http://aftermath.dyndns.org:8888/~aimadhack/

Score: 0

By PSXp-ONE

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 8:54 PM

I know!!..it happened to me at work too and I was like wtf?, I thought it was a virus or something.

Score: 0

By dmainzman

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 6:09 PM

I've put up with AIM's nonsense for years... their annoying as hell ads, their stupid bloated betas, and all sorts of crap... but this tears it! they are REMOTELY MESSING WITH MY BUDDY LIST!! my buddy list is my own private list of people. I rarely even edit it myself. I hate AOL more and more every day. I hope google buys them out soon... or even Microsoft, for god's sake.

Score: 0

By Z_Man

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 4:38 PM

Now I don't usually swear out load but when I logged on today I was like "WTF?!?"....

Score: 0

By excelon2005

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 3:52 PM

Very annoying... I fired those stupid buddies faster than you can say, "Ready, AIM, FIRE!"

Score: 0

By iamtux

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 8:30 AM

omg...*ROFL*
That's great.

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 5:32 PM

Ready, aim, ohh... you did it already.

Score: 0

By MCoupeMike

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 2:53 PM

um... I removed these bots, shut down, rebooted, logged back in, and the bots came back!

Score: 0

By No Beer For You

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 2:15 PM

Why don't the messenger companies understand, I only want to chat to my friends.
I don't want any extra crap like adverts and shopping.
Messengers should be for just that - messaging.

Yahoo got it right - I can remove any extra "content" tabs I don't want.
No internet searching, shopping, movies, music, adverts --- I just want to CHAT!!!!

Score: 0

By JeRrYFaR

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 1:47 PM

Wouldn't surprise me if the other big names (ie.. Yahoo, MSN) don't follow suit..

It's sad.. really sad..

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 3:35 PM

Microsoft probably will. They seem to like copying all the other big ideas recently.

Virtual Earth, the Book index project, Windows Live....

Score: 0

By joeshmoe7

edited Nov 16, 2005 - 1:41 PM

me: hi
ShoppingBuddy: Welcome. Now you can search for products with AOLShopping. Type main to get started. To read our privacy policy, type privacy anytime.

me: you suck
ShoppingBuddy: Good grief, I'm afraid I cannot respond to that kind of talk.

me: bite me ok?
ShoppingBuddy: OK, I'm searching for matches 4 U. Gimme a sec...

ShoppingBuddy: - Search results for bite ok

- Adult Cinderella Deluxe Costume [$55.99]
- Black~harley Men's Fury Boot [$99.97]
- Womens Converse - All Star® Noteb [$50.00]
- Black~youth Reptile Print Boots [$39.97]
- Mens Converse - All Star® Noteboo [$50.00]
- KEEN St Bart's Sandal - Women's [$39.95]
- Ok Go [$4.99 - $15.93]
- Ultramega OK [$0.99 - $16.98]
- Shoot Out At The OK Chinese Resta [$4.99 - $16.98]

Here are some related categories: 1. Rock & Pop Music, 2. Miscellaneous Books, 3. Men's Shoes, 4. Artwork & Posters, 5. Women's Shoes, etc. Type in the number to use the related category.

Gotta love A.I.!!!

Score: 0

By jordenpro

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 1:32 PM

exactly right. I login this morning and have 2 new annoying buddies. It was as easy as deleting the buddies off my buddylist, but an annoyance at the least.

Score: 0

By MCoupeMike

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 1:18 PM

ditto - they were added to mine too - deleted them - do companies not realize that people hate them for doing this crap? bad bad business.

shame on you AOL

Score: 0

By JustAPuzzlePiece

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 1:00 PM

I was hoping to see some sort of article about this. I signed on today and was rather upset with the intrusion by AOL. I quit using there program many months ago switching first to Trillian then to Gaim (which I am currently using) and signing on to see random bots added to my list is complete bull. There are plenty of other chat services out there... now if only all the people I chat with could switch over.

Score: 0

By rpavl

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 12:45 PM

For Gods sake, this company is heading towards the trash bin and all they can think of is this???? Try developing a non intrusive product that does not take over the life of the users PC.

Score: 0

By maniakmx3

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 1:13 PM

perfectly stated :) *two thumbs up*

Score: 0

By GoodThings2Life

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 1:02 PM

I was going to make a post, but then I read yours and realized that everything I needed to say had already been said.

Score: 0

By forgie

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 12:43 PM

They popped up on my buddy list and I zapped them immediatley. F U AOL

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 12:37 PM

I don't see any robots.

Maybe the auto-add doesn't work in GAIM.

*sigh* I love open-source. =)

Stupid robots.

Score: 0

By ascheinberg

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 2:08 PM

They were there for me on Gaim. This is not a client service - this is done on the server itself. If they aren't there, well... they will be. Just give it time.

Score: 0

By wincement

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 3:24 PM

Still none. I guess I just got lucky.

Score: 0

By GoodThings2Life

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 1:04 PM

They were there on my list, and I use Trillian... deleted now though... If I see them again, or anything like it, I'll sign off and never sign back in.

Score: 0

By joesnow

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 12:13 PM

just something new to track our customer 'wants' based on our inquiries to their little search bots.
they could've done something a lot more useful with their time.

Score: 0

By ServerMechanic

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 12:01 PM

What morons.

I'm glad I don't use AIM anymore. At least MSN and Yahoo! don't do crap like this.

Idiots.

Score: 0

By maniakmx3

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 11:52 AM

Not excited...stay out of my list, If I wanted them there, I would add them :)

Score: 0

By k3of4

posted Nov 16, 2005 - 11:42 AM

my thoughts go something like... don't mess with my buddy list, AOL.

Score: 0

By TeMerc

edited Nov 16, 2005 - 2:32 PM

GoodThings2Life, I use Trillian, and they were\are not on my buddy list. How'd they get on yours?

Score: 0

By robertmc8

posted Nov 17, 2005 - 12:59 AM

Ya they did show up on my trillian I was spooke so I got rid of them lol There under list Aimbot lol

Score: 0

By jittles

edited Nov 16, 2005 - 2:24 PM

Well, they still haven't figured out that when people install their software, they don't want AOL shortcuts put on the desktop, start menu, and in browser favorites. AOL is just developmentally disabled (ie, they have trouble learning common sense)

Score: 0

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