Ask.com, one of the earliest search engines on the internet, was officially shut down on the first day of May 2026, ending nearly three decades of online operation.
The platform first appeared in 1996 under the name Ask Jeeves, predating Google and offering users a natural language approach to searching the web for information.
Unlike other early search engines, Ask Jeeves allowed users to type full questions using natural language or keywords, making the experience feel more conversational and accessible to ordinary people.
By 2006, the platform had dropped the Jeeves name entirely, rebranding simply as Ask.com, as it struggled to compete against larger rivals including Google and Yahoo in the search market.
Interactive Corporation, known as IAC, purchased Ask.com in 2005 and remained its owner for over two decades until the company decided to wind down its search business this year.
IAC confirmed in an official statement that it has chosen to end its search operations, including Ask.com, as the company continues to focus and consolidate its portfolio of digital businesses.
The company acknowledged that Ask.com had answered questions from users around the world for 25 years before it was finally taken offline on the first of May this year.
In its closing statement, IAC expressed gratitude toward the millions of users who had trusted and relied upon the platform consistently throughout its long operational history on the web.
The company also thanked the engineers, designers, and wider teams who had built and maintained the Ask platform across multiple decades of continuous development and daily operation online.
