Ask Jeeves
You asked the butler. The butler had no idea.
CAUSE OF DEATH: Quit building its own search engine in 2010 and took 16 more years to lie down.
Perl, Java, Produce Stickers
33% hot · 3 votes
Ask Jeeves launched in 1997 on the promise that you could type a question in plain English and a cartoon butler would answer it. He could not. The company advertised on produce stickers, putting its name on actual bananas, and flew a Jeeves balloon in the Macy's parade. IAC bought it in 2005 in a deal valued at $1.85 billion. In 2006 it fired the butler. In 2010 it shut its own search engine and cut 130 engineers, a search company quitting search. It sponsored a race car. It lingered until May 1, 2026, three decades of being the answer to nothing.