What influence can social bots have on the formation of political opinion? What is technically feasible today? And how can social bots be identified and prevented? Social bots are computer programmes designed to generate automatically created posts on social networks, such as Facebook or Twitter, in order to influence or manipulate discourse. The TA preliminary study provides an overview of the current state of the art in social bots, their fields of application and users, their prevalence, and actual and perceived risks. Furthermore, the current state of knowledge regarding the actual extent of social bot use and their effects was presented. The study focused on the potential risks posed by social bots, arising from the possible manipulation of political discussions and trends on social networks or the influencing of individuals’ purchasing behaviour. The horizon scanning provides an accessible introduction to the topic of social bots and their future potential for influence and applications in politics, business and society.