Ask Jeeves just shut down after 29 years, and nobody noticed
Ask Jeeves, the search engine launched in 1997 with a cartoon butler named Jeeves, officially shut down on May 1, 2026, after 29 years of operation. The service, rebranded as Ask.com in 2006, was discontinued as parent company IAC exits the search business. Despite its early innovation in natural language queries, it failed to compete with Google and faded into obscurity.
- ▪Ask Jeeves was launched in 1997 as a search engine that allowed users to ask questions in plain English.
- ▪The service rebranded to Ask.com in 2006 in response to competition from Google.
- ▪Ask.com officially ceased operations on May 1, 2026, after 29 years.
- ▪IAC Inc., the parent company, announced it is exiting the search industry.
- ▪The shutdown went largely unnoticed, reflecting the service's diminished presence in recent years.
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