Has anyone used bots? Are they worth the time and effort?
Trading bots aren't a plug and play method of earning profits.
To get the most from them, requires knowledge of trading and algorithm tweaking to make the most of current conditions and expected future price trends. For the most part, I think trading bots are a hobbyist and curiosity sector for active and experienced traders to experiment with. Bots can be coded to fill in some of the blank areas where traders are disadvantaged. That would probably be the area where bots are most useful.
A better plug and play method of earning crypto is staking on celsius and platforms that offer decent interest APR IMO.
There are also blockchain and NFT based games like splinterlands that do airdrops and offer crypto earning.