Farewell, Jeeves: Ask.com shuts down

Ask.com, the search engine and question-and-answer service formerly known as Ask Jeeves, has shut down.

Ask Jeeves first launched in 1996 and, with its focus on answering conversational questions posed in natural language, was arguably a precursor to today’s AI-powered chatbots. For most of its 30-year history, however, it’s been overshadowed by other search products, especially Google.