The search engine and question-and-answer service Ask.com, formerly known as Ask Jeeves, has ceased operations. The IAC holding, which owned the service, decided to shut down the search business. Ask Jeeves emerged in 1996 and answered users' questions posed in natural language, making it one of the predecessors of modern AI chatbots. Throughout most of its history, the service remained overshadowed by Google.
A farewell message appeared on the Ask.com website: "As IAC continues to focus its efforts on priority areas, we have decided to cease the search business, including Ask.com. After 25 years of answering questions from around the world, Ask.com officially closed on May 1, 2026."
IAC acquired Ask Jeeves in 2005 and quickly removed 'Jeeves' from the name. By 2010, the holding had discontinued the search product and shifted to a question-and-answer format. In that same year, IAC Chairman Barry Diller stated at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference that Ask.com was unable to compete with Google and was not factored into the holding's stock valuation.
Nevertheless, as the farewell page states, "the spirit of Jeeves lives on." A week earlier, The search engine and question-and-answer service Ask.com, formerly known as Ask Jeeves, has ceased operations. The IAC holding, which owned the service, decided to shut down the search business.
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Source: 3dnews.ru
