Bots have been around for ages. They are nothing new and should be taken into consideration before placing any trade. Bots work best in illiquid markets where their actions will push the price around a fair bit. if you can't beat them, don't play in their end of the pool. If you stick to high volume markets where the "discretionary" traders outweigh the bots then the bots will have a harder time of taking your money.
A bot is actually quite easy to setup with the right trading platform and a little programming knowledge. If you have ever back tested a trading plan (which every trader should do), you have the skills to write a bot. The software is available to the average trader at a reasonable cost.
Software that has automatic trading built in isn't commonly used in Australia because most people use the "default" software that their broker offers. A well written trading plan takes emotion out of the equation and since we know emotion is one of the main reason people loose money, why would a broker offer software that makes their customers emotionless traders?
If you are trading without a back tested trading plan you are mad. If you are trading without a back tested trading plan in a market that bots can move the price around in, you are out of your mind!!
