Pedagogical agents are lifelike characters that are traditionally used to help users with their education but which may also come with several other features which may prove beneficial to the user.

_{This demonstrates the many ways in which a pedagogical agent can be displayed based on the user's preferences. Source: https://media.springernature.com/lw785/springer-static/image/prt%3A978-1-4419-1428-6%2F16/MediaObjects/978-1-4419-1428-6_16_Part_Fig2-942_HTML.gif}

Pedagogical agents need to be able to adapt to the needs of their users to ensure that they get the most benefits possible. This adaptability includes being able to cater to users from various age groups and with various different needs and preferences to ensure that they are aided in the most ideal way possible. A good pedagogical agent also needs to be able to communicate with users in a realistic manner and to be able to answer most of their questions. This allows users to feel more comfortable talking to the agent, which will give the agent more insight onto the needs of the user so that it can work towards them.

_{Above are several examples of ways in which pedagogical agents may appear depending on the preference of the user. Source: https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-S0360131517300775-fx1.jpg}

The way in which a pedagogical agent acts is a very important factor since itmay determin its efficacy in improbing the engagement and performance of students. In the paper Do pedagogical agents make a difference to student motivation and learning?, three types of agents were used to find the best behavioural approach: one based on information, one based on motivation, and another one which used both approaches at once. The intelligence approache agent tended to perform better than the motivation based agent interms of performance improval but worse in user engagement and user's self-efficacy. However, the agent that utilised both of these approaches did better in all three of these regards than the other two agents. Hence, it can be determined that a balanced approach between helping motivate users and giving them the information that they need to improve is the best approach to help users learn.

_{Above are the three agents used to test the behavioural approaches along with some information about them. Source: https://www.semanticscholar.org/topic/Pedagogical-agent/118874}

Due to the many skills that pedagogical agents have, I believe that they can be used within a wide range of areas in which users may require a personalised form of assistance. They can give users advice on other issues which may be troubling them, such as personal issues that may be troubling them, by either giving them information on how to solve their issues or referring the users to people who can better aid them.