Software agents are being used to automate various stages of the buying process in e-commerce, helping both buyers and sellers achieve their goals more efficiently. These agents are personalized, continuously running, and semiautonomous, allowing them to optimize the buying experience and revolutionize commerce. For example, a company could use agents to monitor paper usage and automatically place orders when supplies are low. Agents can also collect and evaluate product and vendor information, negotiate transactions, and make automated payments. In e-commerce, agents act as mediators, helping to identify needs, find products, select merchants, negotiate terms, and manage post-purchase service. They can be used in various stages of the buying process, including need identification, product brokering, merchant brokering, and negotiation. Several agent systems, such as PersonaLogic, Firefly, and Tête-à-Tête, are designed to assist in these tasks by filtering products, recommending items based on user preferences, and facilitating negotiations between buyers and sellers. Automated negotiation is a key component of e-commerce, allowing agents to find and prepare contracts on behalf of real-world parties. This automation saves time and can lead to better deals in complex situations. Negotiation can involve various types of contracts, such as cluster, swap, multiagent, and OCSM contracts, which help achieve optimal outcomes. The use of combinatorial auctions and mobile agents allows for more flexible and efficient transactions, especially in markets with complex or volatile conditions. Mobile agents are particularly useful in distributed systems, as they can move between hosts and execute tasks autonomously. They help reduce network load, overcome latency issues, and provide asynchronous execution. Mobile agents are also beneficial in secure brokering, distributed information retrieval, and telecommunication services, where they can perform tasks that would be difficult or impossible for traditional systems. The future of agent-mediated e-commerce is promising, with the potential to transform how companies conduct business by managing ambiguous content, personalized preferences, complex goals, and changing environments. As standards are adopted and technologies mature, agent systems will become more effective in creating dynamic business partnerships and improving market efficiency.Software agents are being used to automate various stages of the buying process in e-commerce, helping both buyers and sellers achieve their goals more efficiently. These agents are personalized, continuously running, and semiautonomous, allowing them to optimize the buying experience and revolutionize commerce. For example, a company could use agents to monitor paper usage and automatically place orders when supplies are low. Agents can also collect and evaluate product and vendor information, negotiate transactions, and make automated payments. In e-commerce, agents act as mediators, helping to identify needs, find products, select merchants, negotiate terms, and manage post-purchase service. They can be used in various stages of the buying process, including need identification, product brokering, merchant brokering, and negotiation. Several agent systems, such as PersonaLogic, Firefly, and Tête-à-Tête, are designed to assist in these tasks by filtering products, recommending items based on user preferences, and facilitating negotiations between buyers and sellers. Automated negotiation is a key component of e-commerce, allowing agents to find and prepare contracts on behalf of real-world parties. This automation saves time and can lead to better deals in complex situations. Negotiation can involve various types of contracts, such as cluster, swap, multiagent, and OCSM contracts, which help achieve optimal outcomes. The use of combinatorial auctions and mobile agents allows for more flexible and efficient transactions, especially in markets with complex or volatile conditions. Mobile agents are particularly useful in distributed systems, as they can move between hosts and execute tasks autonomously. They help reduce network load, overcome latency issues, and provide asynchronous execution. Mobile agents are also beneficial in secure brokering, distributed information retrieval, and telecommunication services, where they can perform tasks that would be difficult or impossible for traditional systems. The future of agent-mediated e-commerce is promising, with the potential to transform how companies conduct business by managing ambiguous content, personalized preferences, complex goals, and changing environments. As standards are adopted and technologies mature, agent systems will become more effective in creating dynamic business partnerships and improving market efficiency.