Ask.com, the search engine and question-and-answer service website once known as "Ask Jeeves," has officially shut down. Ask Jeeves was first launched in 1996 and is regarded as a pioneer of today's artificial intelligence chatbots due to its focus on answering conversational questions in natural language. Yet throughout its nearly 30-year history, the service has been overshadowed by other search products, especially Google.
Holding company IAC acquired Ask Jeeves in 2005 and quickly dropped "Jeeves" from the name. By 2010, IAC had scaled back its search product and refocused on its question-and-answer business. That same year, IAC Chairman Barry Diller said at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference that Ask.com could not compete with Google and had no value in IAC's stock valuation.
Information currently displayed on the Ask.com website states: "As IAC continues to focus on its core business, we have decided to cease search operations including Ask.com. After 25 years of answering questions for users around the world, Ask.com will officially close on May 1, 2026." Despite this, the website still insists: "Jeeves' spirit will live on forever."