I didn't find a real world example of how a bot currently assists an author. Most bots upvote what a curator upvotes. Since they are assigned to several curators, their voting power diminishes fast. If the curators are not good at selecting good content, bots don't make any profit.
Currently, a bot is only worthwhile if it's attached to a curator with lots of money, and if the bot has a lot money itself. So I'd add "bots will help you get rich, if you are already rich" to your article.
I'm actually doing it in reverse, using the bot for screening. I have a bot with less steempower voting through steemvoter.com, then I use its voting list as one input for my manual votes with this account. Over time, I expect to increase the bot's steem power and to increase its capability for semi-intelligent curating. Not sure if I'll be able to keep using steemvoter for more tailored curation or if I'll eventually have to roll my own. I have a basic upvote bot functioning, but I'm sort-of hoping to be able to continue to "outsource" it to steemvoter. ; -)
I'm not aware of that at the moment either, but I expect it to arise. Reporting statistics about the STEEM block chain, for example, is an obvious place that might be automated.
Update: Actually, to correct myself, I bet @robotev's daily reports are bot-generated, requiring little or no manual involvement.
I'm sure there will be rare exceptions, but I think that's mostly true. But then again, who can reasonably expect to get rich doing social media without investing a lot of time or capital? Just because it's anchored to cryptocurrency isn't going to change the basic nature of the platform. (which goes back to your point about developing something unique to create value)
Good points, I agree! Have a good day!