*inhales*
A Nextbot is typically a png image of a certain character or object. Nextbots were a revolutionary pathfinding invention created in Garry's Mod. Before Nextbots, an AI would use something called "nodes" to pathfind. Basically, the nodes created a path of places the AI in question could go at any given time.
Although this method worked, nodes became inefficient for a variety of reasons. An AI that was required to go to many places required many nodes, and this often lagged games they were in. Also, Nodes limit the amount of places an AI can go, therefore limiting the game.
Nextbots are AI that function in a unique way in which the Nextbot scans the walkable areas on a map (also called "Navigational Mapping"). The Nextbot uses this collected data to place nodes as it sees fit, allowing it to traverse the map in ways that normal AI would be unable to.
