The design of a search agent that manages information for naive users

Abstract

A software agent is being built to help naive users effectively perform the search tasks without feeling intimidated or overwhelmed by the technology or the tool. The display of information as well as the content of it can either be too much (the problem of precision) or too little (the recall problem) which in turn can leave a naive user feel frustrated with the search. This agent's aim is to assist these users with their search goals. The overall strategy is to understand the search goal and then "push" and "pull" information to match the needs.