After nearly 30 years (25, to be precise), Ask Jeeves, the search engine of the early 90s, which was inspired by the highly intelligent and competent valet from the books of PG Wodehouse, is tendering its resignation. As of this article, the search engine is now forever offline.
“As IAC continues to sharpen its focus, we have made the decision to discontinue our search business, which includes Ask.com. After 25 years of answering the world’s questions, Ask.com officially closed on May 1, 2026.”
Rebranded as Ask.com in 2006, Ask Jeeves was one of the popular search engines, back when the internet was still up and coming, and long before Google even had a foothold in the space, although the latter did make its debut in 1998. AltaVista, Lycos, AIM, AOL, Yahoo! Search; these are just some of the search engines that existed then, and yes, the last one is still very much active.
Another fact to remember is that these platforms all cropped up at a time when dial-up internet was still a thing. Yeah, we bet that many of you are reading the term “dial-up internet” and looking it up right now, while at the same time, this writer is starting to feel their own age creeping up on them.
“We are deeply grateful to the brilliant engineers, designers, and teams who built and supported Ask over the decades. 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.”
In case you’re wondering — also, a bit of trivia — who the Jeeves in the Ask Jeeves namesake is; Jeeves is a character, created by the English author PG Wodehouse. Often described as being both highly intelligent and extremely competent, he is a valet, not a butler, in the employ of Bertie Wooster, a young Londoner with too much money and time on their hands, and often described as a wastrel.
(Source: Cybernews, Tom’s Hardware, Engadget, Ask.com)
