History taking using a web-based, automated software module (Historian) was compared with standard outpatient initial assessment on a community sample of 27 new psychiatric outpatients. The comprehensiveness and acceptability of the computer interview was evaluated. Historian was found to take psychiatric histories comparable with regard to content and comprehensiveness with those taken by clinicians. Historian was found to be highly acceptable to patients on a wide range of measures. History-taking software may help to prioritise referrals, focus the initial assessment and reduce consultation time in a psychiatric outpatient setting. The availability of a comprehensive history (Historian) is likely to lead to a shorter face-to-face consultation which could then be better focused on diagnosis and treatment. Service users with special needs such as hearing impairment, poor mobility or with no command of the English language (but literate in their native tongue) may benefit from improved access to psychiatric services.