What happened to Ask Jeeves?

Ask Jeeves, now known as Ask.com, was a question-and-answer and search engine business that was founded in 1996 by David Warthen and Garrett Gruener.

Ask Jeeves was based on the eponymous character Jeeves, a butler named after a valet in a series of fictional books from author P. G. Wodehouse.

Visitors to the site would type in a question and be directed an answer from crawler-based results, paid Google listings, or content from the Ask Jeeves editorial team.

Some of the more difficult questions were sent directly to a site editor, with some paid and others volunteering their time and expertise.

All appeared well at the company after an IPO in 1999 worth $42 million and more than one million daily searches on the Ask Jeeves website.

Less than seven years later, however, the Ask Jeeves brand was formally retired, and the company made a belated but ultimately successful business model pivot.

Aspect	Description
Founding and Early Days	Ask Jeeves, originally known as Ask.com, was founded in 1996 by David Warthen and Garrett Gruener. The search engine featured a unique question-and-answer format, with a butler mascot named Jeeves. The concept aimed to provide users with more intuitive and human-like search results.
Early Popularity and IPO	Ask Jeeves gained popularity in the late 1990s and conducted a successful IPO (Initial Public Offering) in 1999, capitalizing on the dot-com boom. It was one of the prominent search engines during the early days of the internet.
Challenges and Competition	Despite its early success, Ask Jeeves faced fierce competition from search giants like Google, which offered more efficient and algorithm-driven search results. Ask Jeeves struggled to keep up with the evolving search engine technology.
Rebranding as Ask.com	In 2005, the company underwent a major rebranding effort and officially changed its name to Ask.com, removing the Jeeves character from its logo. This move aimed to present a more modern and streamlined image.
Acquisition by IAC/InterActiveCorp	In 2005, IAC/InterActiveCorp acquired Ask.com. The acquisition was part of IAC’s strategy to expand its online services portfolio. Under new ownership, Ask.com continued to operate as a search engine but faced an uphill battle against competitors like Google and Bing.
Shift to Question-and-Answer Format	Ask.com shifted its focus towards becoming a question-and-answer community, allowing users to ask and answer questions on various topics. This move aimed to provide more specialized and community-driven search results.
Multiple Redesigns and Feature Changes	Over the years, Ask.com underwent several redesigns and feature changes in an effort to remain relevant. These changes included experimenting with different search interfaces and expanding its offerings to include tools like maps and image search.
Retirement of the Ask.com Brand	In 2020, IAC/InterActiveCorp announced the retirement of the Ask.com brand as a standalone search engine. It decided to focus on its other digital properties and services, marking the end of Ask.com’s long history as a search engine.
Legacy and Transition to Focus Brands	While Ask.com’s search engine era came to an end, the brand’s legacy included its early contribution to the development of internet search engines and its unique question-and-answer format. IAC continued to operate and expand its online services under its “Focus Brands” division.
Current Status	Ask.com no longer operated as a standalone search engine. The brand had transitioned to other ventures within IAC’s portfolio.

Table of Contents

Search engine wars and the dot-com bubble

Ask Jeeves existed at a time in the late 1990s and early 2000s, characterized by heavy competition in the search industry.

Google had formed in 1997, but there were also more established players such as AltaVista, Excite, Yahoo!, and Lycos.

This period was characterized by numerous companies competing to secure market share in an exciting time of possibility on the internet.

Unfortunately, this period was also characterized by intense speculation in internet-based companies that ultimately could not be sustained.

When the dot-com bubble burst, Ask Jeeves posted a $425 million loss in 2001 and teetered on bankruptcy.

Site reconfiguration

Realizing something needed to change, Gruener decided to make Ask Jeeves more of a traditional search engine and less of a question-and-answer platform.

Jeeves himself was recast as something akin to a mascot rather than a provider of knowledge.

Thanks to an ad revenue deal struck with Google; the company returned to profit in 2003.

However, it’s important to note that Google Adwords had already secured 32% of the market by this point. By comparison, Ask Jeeves held a paltry 3%.

Acquisition

InterActive Corp. (IAC) acquired Ask Jeeves for $1.85 billion in 2005.

At the head of IAC was Barry Diller, who purchased the platform believing he could take significant market share from Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

Thanks to lucrative advertising revenue, these three competitors accounted for 83% of all web searches and had access to deep talent pools and vast resources.

To better compete in the industry, Ask Jeeves made several acquisitions and invested heavily in advertising as the business model pivoted to one based on search engine traffic.

Ask Jeeves became Ask.com in 2006, and any trace of Jeeves, the butler, was removed.

Business model pivot

Ask Jeeves was initially popular because of its user experience.

Indeed, asking a butler to answer a question was a novelty at a time when the powerful search engines we take for granted today did not exist.

However, the platform ultimately failed because of the pivot from a question-and-answer platform to a search engine.

Ask Jeeves entered the industry at walking speed while players like Google were already sprinting.

To some extent, Ask Jeeves was doomed either way.

As web users became accustomed to the streamlined interface and functionality of search engines, few were willing to endure the hassle of asking using Ask Jeeves when Google could deliver multiple answers in a fraction of a second.

Key takeaways:

Ask Jeeves, now known as Ask.com, is a question-and-answer and search engine business founded in 1996 by David Warthen and Garrett Gruener.
When the dot-com bubble burst, Ask Jeeves entered into an ad-revenue share agreement with Google. Over the following years, it progressively shifted from a question-and-answer platform to one more closely resembling a search engine.
Ask Jeeves was acquired by InterActive Corp. in 2005, with then-CEO Barry Diller instituting several acquisitions and a formal business model pivot to take market share from Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Ultimately, these companies had too much of a head start, and Ask Jeeves could not compete with their talent pool or resources.

Quick Timeline

Ask Jeeves was a question-and-answer and search engine business founded in 1996, based on the fictional character Jeeves from P. G. Wodehouse’s books.
During the dot-com bubble, Ask Jeeves faced heavy competition in the search industry, with Google and other established players vying for market share.
After suffering a significant loss in 2001, Ask Jeeves reconfigured its site to become more of a traditional search engine and less of a Q&A platform.
Ask Jeeves made a revenue-sharing deal with Google, which helped it return to profitability in 2003, but it still held a small market share compared to Google.
In 2005, Ask Jeeves was acquired by InterActive Corp. (IAC), led by Barry Diller, with the aim of competing with Google, Yahoo, and MSN.
Ask Jeeves underwent a business model pivot, making acquisitions and investing in advertising to increase search engine traffic.
The platform transitioned to Ask.com in 2006, removing any trace of the Jeeves butler character.
Ask Jeeves’ initial popularity was due to its unique user experience, but the pivot to a search engine model came too late, and it couldn’t compete with Google’s established dominance in the search industry.

Year	Event	Description
1996	Founding of Ask Jeeves (now Ask.com) by David Warthen and Garrett Gruener.	Ask Jeeves is established as a question-and-answer and search engine business, introducing a unique question-based search format to users. The platform is named after the fictional character Jeeves, inspired by P. G. Wodehouse’s novels, with the aim of providing more intuitive and human-like search results.
1999	Successful IPO (Initial Public Offering) of Ask Jeeves, capitalizing on the dot-com boom.	Ask Jeeves conducts a successful IPO, raising capital and leveraging the momentum of the dot-com boom. The company gains visibility and financial resources to support its growth and expansion efforts in the competitive search engine market.
2001	Ask Jeeves suffers a $425 million loss amid the burst of the dot-com bubble.	The dot-com bubble burst leads to significant financial challenges for Ask Jeeves, resulting in a substantial loss of $425 million. The company faces uncertainty and pressure to adapt to changing market dynamics and evolving user preferences in the aftermath of the dot-com crash.
2003	Return to profitability through an ad revenue deal with Google.	Ask Jeeves strikes an ad revenue deal with Google, which helps the company return to profitability in 2003. The partnership enables Ask Jeeves to generate revenue through advertising and regain financial stability amidst intense competition in the search engine industry.
2005	Acquisition of Ask Jeeves by IAC/InterActiveCorp, led by Barry Diller.	InterActiveCorp (IAC) acquires Ask Jeeves for $1.85 billion under the leadership of Barry Diller. The acquisition is part of IAC’s strategy to expand its online services portfolio and compete with major players like Google, Yahoo, and MSN in the search engine market. Ask Jeeves undergoes significant changes under new ownership to enhance its competitiveness.
2005-06	Rebranding of Ask Jeeves to Ask.com and transition to a more traditional search engine model.	Ask Jeeves undergoes a rebranding effort, officially changing its name to Ask.com and transitioning towards a more conventional search engine model. The company shifts away from its question-and-answer format and adopts strategies to compete directly with leading search engines like Google and Yahoo.
Present	Retirement of Ask.com as a standalone search engine, with the brand transitioning to other ventures within IAC’s portfolio.	Ask.com no longer operates as a standalone search engine but remains part of IAC’s digital services portfolio. The retirement of Ask.com marks the end of its era as a pioneering question-and-answer and search engine business. The brand’s legacy includes its contribution to early internet search technologies and its role in shaping user search experiences.