Ask.com shuts down after nearly 30 years, ending Ask Jeeves era
Original: Ask.com shuts down after nearly 30 years, marking the end of Ask Jeeves
Why This Matters
Marks the end of an early search pioneer that influenced modern conversational AI
Ask.com, originally launched as Ask Jeeves in 1997, officially closed operations on May 1, 2026. Parent company IAC announced the closure as part of a shift away from search business after nearly three decades of service.
Ask.com, which began as Ask Jeeves in 1997, shut down on May 1, 2026, with parent company IAC citing a strategic shift away from search business. The site featured a natural language interface where users could ask full questions and receive answers from mascot Jeeves. At its peak, it competed with Yahoo in the early web era before Google's dominance. The company rebranded to Ask.com in 2006 and discontinued its web crawler in 2010, continuing with a Q&A approach. Online reactions showed nostalgia, with users noting the service pioneered conversational search that influenced modern AI chatbots like ChatGPT. The farewell message stated 'Every great search must come to an end.'