Ask.com has officially shut down, bringing an end to one of the internet’s original search brands

The site, once famous as Ask Jeeves, launched back in 1996 with a simple idea: let people ask questions in normal language and get answers back. In many ways, it was an early version of the behaviour we now see with AI chatbots — users typing questions, not just keywords.

But despite its early popularity, Ask.com spent most of its life in Google’s shadow.

IAC acquired Ask Jeeves in 2005, later dropping the “Jeeves” name and repositioning the company away from pure search. By 2010, IAC had already scaled back the search side of the business and shifted Ask.com more toward Q&A.

Now the end has officially arrived.

A message on Ask.com says IAC has decided to discontinue its search business as part of a sharper company focus. Ask.com closed on May 1, 2026, ending roughly 30 years of internet history.

It’s a small but symbolic moment.

Ask Jeeves was never the biggest search engine. But it was one of the first to imagine that people wanted to ask the internet questions in a human way — something that feels very familiar in the AI era.

Jeeves may be gone, but the idea he represented is more alive than ever.