Ask Jeeves quietly shuts down after nearly three decades, after pioneering conversational web search long before ChatGPT and Gemini

Date:
Mon, 04 May 2026 10:11:15 +0000

Description:
Remember Ask Jeeves? The original portal for asking questions on the web is now no more.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Ask Jeeves has closed after almost 30 years It pioneered natural language web searches Today, ChatGPT and Gemini work in similar ways With AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini available, it's now easy to run web searches like "what are the best sights
in Rome?" or "how do you fix a leaky shower?", but this natural language format was actually pioneered almost 30 years ago and by a search portal
that just closed down.

The portal was Ask Jeeves, later rebranded to Ask.com, and it opened fully to the public on June 1, 1997. As XDA Developers reports, what remained of Ask.com has now been shuttered by its current owner, InterActiveCorp (IAC).
If you were online just as the internet was taking off, you'll remember Ask Jeeves and its eponymous butler character named after the valet Jeeves in
the PG Wodehouse stories. The idea was to ask questions and get answers from the growing amount of information on the web, not just look for topics like "sports" or "movies". Article continues below You may like I tried Googles
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At the time that Ask Jeeves launched, Google was still a prototype university project, and it offered something genuinely different to the search engines and web directories of the time (including Yahoo, AltaVista, and Lycos). 'Deeply grateful' (Image credit: Ask Jeeves / Ask.com) Google of course entirely changed the web search landscape, and after its initial success, Ask Jeeves struggled. It was renamed Ask.com in February 2006 as Jeeves was removed from the search portal, although the butler character did reappear on the UK version of the site between 2009 and 2016.

IAC took over operations in 2005, and has now made the decision to close the search engine down to "sharpen its focus" on other areas. The official end date for Ask Jeeves and Ask.com was May 1, 2026.

"We are deeply grateful to the brilliant engineers, designers, and teams who built and supported Ask over the decades," says IAC. "And to you the
millions of users who turned to us for answers in a rapidly changing world thank you for your endless curiosity, your loyalty, and your trust. Jeeves' spirit endures." Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

It's interesting that as Google and other AI-led companies try and make web search like a natural conversation again, the site that first pioneered the approach is closing. Ask Jeeves really was ahead of its time, back in 1997. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

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us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. The best laptops for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best laptops 1. Best overall: Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M5 2. Best budget: Apple MacBook Neo 3. Best Windows 11 laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch 4. Best thin and light: Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 5. Best Ultrabook Asus Zenbook S 16



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/search-engines/ask-jeeves-quietly-shuts-do wn-after-nearly-three-decades-after-pioneering-conversational-web-search-long- before-chatgpt-and-gemini


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