What is Ask Jeeves?   

Ask Jeeves is a web search engine that enables you to search information on the internet using questions instead of just keywords. It was developed by Garrett Gruener and David Warthen in 1996 and was launched in April of 1997. Their objective was to provide users with a tool to search the internet in plain English. The question answering service allows users to type a question and receive a reply that directs them to related sites to give the answer. Ask Jeeves became popular to many users especially those who were not familiar in searching information on the internet.

The search engine had constantly been a strong contender in the search engine race not far behind Google, Yahoo! and MSN. But the biggest dilemma it encountered was the inconsistency of its answers to searches as the results came from a mixture of well-known website lists which was updated by people, and results coming from several partner websites. This prompted Ask Jeeves to develop its very own search system and acquire similar search technology deemed to help the search engine stay competitive.

Ask Jeeves serviced its users with a more targeted approach than any other services on the web. Starting with just 3,000 questions processed each day during its first month of business, it went on to answer at least one million questions per day in 1999. Its user base has grown dramatically from about 420,000 in 1998 to 2 million in April 1999 to over 5 million in December of 1999.

In November 1999, Ask Jeeves acquired Net Effect which allowed them to hook up their answers to consumers on the internet by means of text-based, real-time messages with remote advisers and live agents. They also integrated the live help of Net Effect to the Ask Jeeves Corporate Question Answering Service with the aim of establishing a place where businesses will find anything they need, and also a venue to ultimately switch visitors to buyers. Another new feature called Personal Jeeves was added in January 2000. Personal Jeeves was a personalized service to clients particularly customized news service. It was called The Daily Answer wherein the contents were top national and world stories, business, sports, and about anything that you would find in common newspapers.

The acquisition of some superior search technology enabled Ask Jeeves to perform impressively presenting more relevant answers to questions this time. Even though a lot of emphasis was on sponsored listings, the introduction of these new search technologies enabled Ask Jeeves to have a 25% rise in user satisfaction.

Ask Jeeves had led the way on the usage of plain English question answering services in the World Wide Web. It was able to establish a new means for consumers and businesses to interact on the internet. Its considerable financial growth enabled the company to acquire other websites like Excite and iWon. The company however decided to drop ‘Jeeves the butler’ in the search engine’s brand name and on February 2006, it was re-launched and was simply called Ask.

We're not in the Search Engine game. But you can take your laptop to our computer reapir centre in London.

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